JANUARY 9 AMONG THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DATES IN RECENT SERB HISTORY

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 6 /SRNA/ - One of the most significant dates in recent Serb history is January 9, 1992, when the Serbs living in BiH created their own separate state framework for the first time, the researcher and senior associate at the Institute of Historical Sciences of the University of East Sarajevo Georgije Vulić told SRNA.

He pointed out that October 24, 1991 was one of the key dates in the creation of Republika Srpska, as it was the day when the process of creating the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH began. "In the modern conditions of the attack on Republika Srpska, it is necessary for people of historical science arena to always highlight the fact of its origin before the very beginning of the war in BiH. This is extremely important for understanding the broader historical context related to these events," Vulić said. He reminded that on the day of Saint Archdeacon Stefan, January 9, 1992, the political representatives of the Serbpeople in BiH decided to implement the will of the Serb people expressed in the plebiscite held in November 1991, when it was clearly stated that the remaining in Yugoslavia was political aspiration of the Serb people in BiH. "This is how the Republic of the Serb people in BiH was proclaimed. Legitimately elected Serb deputies in BiH also decided that the newly formed Republic would become one of the federal units within Yugoslavia. Serb political representatives made great efforts to ensure the country, which creation the Serbs lost most lives for," emphasized Vulić. He stated that Republika Srpska, created in peace, and internationally recognised in Dayton and Paris, was during the war an expression of Serb compromise with the then current situation. Vulić notes that the original idea of the Serb leaders west of the Drina was not the formation of a new Serb state, as it is often interpreted, but the creation of Republika Srpska was a response to the political outvoting by the Muslim and Croat representatives in BiH and their desire for independent BiH, which the Serbs could not agree to. "The way out of such a situation was found in the attempt to remain in Yugoslavia. The strategy of the Serbs in BiH changed significantly with the creation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on April 27, 1992. From that moment on, the Serbs in BiH fought primarily for the preservation of their newly formed Republic, and if for that, there will be opportunities for the creation of a new Yugoslav community," said Vulić. He pointed out that the proclamation of the Republic of the Serb People in BiH on January 9, 1992 should be viewed in the light of that historical moment, without adding subsequent interpretations. According to him, the Serbs initially defended that Republic for the sake of preserving Yugoslavia, but since the spring of 1992 for their own survival, which they were forced to defend independently. Republika Srpska was created on January 9, 1992 under the original name Srpska Republika BiH /Serb Republic of BiH/. It was founded by Serb deputies in the then Assembly of BiH after they were outvoted in key issues about the survival of Yugoslavia, while the members of the other two peoples started secession against Serbs' will, who had the status of a constituent people.