KARAN: NO FORCE CAN STAND BETWEEN SRPSKA AND ITS PEOPLE; ONCE THE SERB PEOPLE DECIDE, THERE’S NO GOING BACK!

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 25 /SRNA/ – Professor of Constitutional Law Siniša Karan emphasized in a statement for SRNA that a referendum is a democratic shield, not a weapon, because the will of the people must not be ignored or subordinated to foreign interests, arrogant impositions, or blackmail.

"In democratic societies, a referendum is sacred. It is the direct, final, and unquestionable expression of the people’s sovereignty. A referendum does not ask for permission, it does not wait for consent—it starts from the truth that power belongs to the people," Karan said. He clarified that the referendum is not a call for the disintegration of BiH, but rather a clear message from the Serb people that any attempt to create a unitary BiH will meet a political and institutional wall. Those who perceive the referendum as a threat, Karan said in a statement to SRNA, must understand that the real threat to BiH is their arrogance, abuse of power, and disregard for the Constitution of BiH, for Republika Srpska, and for the will of the people. "It's been nine years since the people of Republika Srpska firmly declared that January 9 is Republic Day, and that no one can take that date away from us. The 2016 referendum was not an incident, but the first step on our path, in which the people directly dictate their will to the institutions," Karan said. He stated that, just as nine years ago, today’s referendum is a fight against attempts by parts of the international community, malicious uninvited diplomats, and political Sarajevo to undermine and diminish the constitutional autonomy of Republika Srpska. "Today, in 2025, Republika Srpska is once again holding a referendum because it will not allow anyone to decide on its behalf. The people know that the main sources of problems in BiH are the illegal Christian Schmidt, the unconstitutional Court and Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, and the BiH Central Election Commission (CEC), the actions of which are anti-Dayton and an insult to the legal order," Professor Karan pointed out. He reminded that Republika Srpska has been defending the Constitution of BiH since the formation of the state union, clearly recognizing that the Constitution of BiH is an international agreement—not a colonial charter. He stressed that the BiH Constitution is not a gift from Sarajevo but the result of an international agreement and serves as a guarantee of balance between two entities and three constituent peoples. Today, Karan said, 30 years after the Dayton Peace Accords, a series of forcibly transferred powers has created an anti-Dayton BiH with unconstitutional judicial institutions aimed at defending illegality and creating a unitary BiH. According to him, the decision of the people through elections and referendums is final and represents both a safeguard and a guarantee that Republika Srpska will not disappear. Karan explained that Republika Srpska resists anti-Dayton pressures through the will of its people. "The decision of Republika Srpska to call a referendum for October 25 this year is a response to the systematic attempt to dismantle the agreed constitutional order. It is a legal, legitimate, and constitutional act. But more than anything, it is a political declaration of a people who do not give up what is theirs and who refuse to be humiliated!" Karan stressed. He underlined that Republika Srpska does not answer to international overseers, but to the people who created it—and those people have decided to clearly say NO to the enemies of Republika Srpska and the Serb people. "On the ninth anniversary of the 2016 referendum and ahead of the new one, we clearly state: we do not ask for consent from political Sarajevo, from various international meddlers, or from unitarians—we ask for the opinion of our own people. That is the only approval we need. There is no force, no court, no embassy, nor any fake High Representative that can come between Republika Srpska and its people. Once the people decide, there is no turning back," professor of Constitutional Law Siniša Karan concluded.