TOŠIĆ: ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSEMBLY OF THE SERB PEOPLE WAS FOUNDATION FOR CREATION OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

PALE, OCTOBER 24 /SRNA/ - Momir Tošić, president of the Assembly of the Association of the Creators of Republika Srpska, said that the establishment of the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH 35 years ago laid the foundations for the creation of Republika Srpska, stressing that Republika Srpska should further strengthen all the rights and powers granted to it under the Dayton Agreement in the period ahead.

Tošić told SRNA that October 24, 1991, was one of the most significant dates in recent Serbian history.

"This is the date that marked the creation of Republika Srpska," Tošić said, noting that these 35 years demonstrate that Republika Srpska was built on solid foundations.

He reminded that the Declaration on the Proclamation of Republika Srpska was adopted on January 9, 1992, followed by the Constitution on February 28.

Tošić said the Assembly of the Serb People was established after the SDA–HDZ coalition outvoted Serb members of the Assembly of the then Socialist Republic of BiH, demonstrating its intention to establish a sovereign BiH, which the Serbs, as a nationally conscious people, could not accept.

"We gave them 10 days to reconsider their decision and return to the principles on which BiH was founded - equality among all peoples," recalled Tošić, who served as MP in the first three terms of the Republika Srpska National Assembly.

He said that Muslims and Croats believed they could secure a parliamentary majority at the time, adding that the Serbs had no other choice but to establish the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH.

"In the period ahead, we need to strengthen everything that was granted to Republika Srpska under the Dayton Agreement," Tošić stressed.

He concluded that BiH can survive only with two entities and three constituent peoples.

The Republika Srpska National Assembly, the highest constitutional and legislative body in Republika Srpska’s system of government and the central institution of its parliamentary system, was established on October 24, 1991, as the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH.

The decision was made by MPs elected in the fall of 1990.

On the same day, at the inaugural session of the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH, other acts were adopted, including the Decision on the Serb People Remaining in the Common State of Yugoslavia and the Decision on Calling and Conducting a Plebiscite of the Serb People in BiH, both of which were of particular political significance.

On January 9, 1992, members of the Republika Srpska National Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Proclamation of the Republic of the Serb People of BiH. This date is marked as Republika Srpska Day.

On February 28, 1992, the National Assembly adopted the Constitution of Republika Srpska and the Constitutional Law for its Implementation, thereby formally establishing the state-legal subjectivity of the Serb people.