VUČUREVIĆ: ASSEMBLY OF SERB PEOPLE IN BiH - FOUNDATION OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

PALE, OCTOBER 20 /SRNA/ – Božidar Vučurević, a member of the first convocation of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, told SRNA that the establishment of the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH 35 years ago was a turning point in Serb politics, without which Serbs in BiH would be subjugated today.

Vučurević stressed that the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH was the foundation of Republika Srpska.

"The date of the establishment of the Assembly of the SerbPeople in BiH, October 24, 1991, is one of the most important dates in the creation and survival of Republika Srpska," Vučurević said.

Vučurević pointed out that the political decision made by 13 Serb deputies to leave a continued session of the Assembly of BiH in October 1991 was a direct response to unlawful outvoting and attempts by Bosnian Muslims, with the support of Croat political representatives, to impose a new constitutional order.

"We did all of this in accordance with international law so that Republika Srpska would not be put at risk. The 13 of us sat for 13 hours and decided to establish the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH in such a way that our enemies could not overturn it by accusing us of having acted illegally," said Vučurević, honorary chair of the Association of Republika Srpska Creators.

He noted that the Serb people had endured great suffering over the centuries.

"For five centuries, we lived under Ottoman rule, then came the annexation by Austria-Hungary, followed by four years under Hitler's boot, and then five decades under communist, atheistic rule," Vučurević recalled.

He stressed that wars brought suffering and destruction, but that something positive had also emerged for the Serb people from the most recent war: the establishment of the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH, followed later by Republika Srpska.

"We decided to establish, for the first time in history, a Serb state on this side of the Drina," he said.

Vučurević noted that only two of the 13 deputies from the first convocation of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska are still alive: himself and Radovan Karadžić.

The National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the highest constitutional and legislative body within the governing structure of Republika Srpska 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 adopted by deputies elected in the autumn 1990 elections.

On the same day, at the inaugural session of the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH, several other acts were adopted, including the Decision on the Serb People's Continued Presence in the Common State of Yugoslavia and the Decision on Calling and Conducting a Plebiscite of the Serb People in BiH.

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

On February 28, 1992, the National Assembly adopted the Constitution of Republika Srpska and the Constitutional Law for its Implementation, thereby formally establishing the legal and constitutional status of the Serb people as a political entity.