MINIĆ: SRPSKA PERMANENT GUARANTEE OF THE PROTECTION OF SERB RIGHTS IN BiH

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 8 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić said that the creation of Srpska amid a whirlwind of historical adversity was the only possible path for the Serb people, therefore Republika Srpska remains the sole lasting guarantee of the protection of the Serb people's rights in BiH.

Minić congratulated the citizens of Srpska on January 9 – the Republika Srpska Day and the Day of Defensive–Patriotic War Soldiers, the Government Public Relations Bureau announced. "On this great day, we are immensely proud of all those who contributed to the fact that today we have our own Republic and that, in peace and freedom, we mark the day of its founding," Minić cited in his congratulatory message. He expressed the hope that this day would be an opportunity for everyone to remember their loved ones - brothers, sisters, sons, friends, and relatives, who built into the foundations of the Republic what is most sacred: their lives. "Had it not been for the soldiers of the Defensive–Patriotic War, there would be no us today. We owe them for standing by their people in those difficult times, when it seemed that everything had conspired against us, and for defending our right to live on our centuries-old homes," Minić emphasized. He added that a difficult and turbulent path has been traveled over the past period. "From the war, where we fought for survival, through achieving the Dayton compromise on the shape of today's BiH and Srpska, to the almost daily attempts to undermine our constitutional and legal position, which we are witnessing even today," Minić recalled. He says it is the task of Srpska's institutions to resist pressure and build society along the path of peace, prosperity, and coexistence with other peoples, so that it may be better and more successful, to the satisfaction of all who live in it. January 9 is celebrated as the Republika Srpska Day as it was established on that date in 1992 under its original name, the Republic of the Serb People in BiH. Srpska was founded by Serb deputies in the then Assembly of BiH after they were outvoted on key issues concerning the survival of Yugoslavia, while members of the other two peoples moved toward secession against the will of the Serbs, who had the status of a constituent people. The name Republic of the Serb People in BiH was used until February 28, 1992, when the first Constitution was proclaimed, at which point it was replaced by the name Srpska Republika of BiH, which was used until August 12, 1992, when the name Srpska Republika was introduced. In September 1992, this was replaced by the current name – Republika Srpska.