ŠKOBO: FORMATION OF ASSEMBLY OF SERB PEOPLE AFFIRMED SERBS' WILL

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, OCTOBER 24 /SRNA/ - Historian Lazar Škobo told SRNA that the formation of the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH 34 years ago affirmed the will of the Serbs, and the establishment of Republika Srpska represented the culmination of that process.

Škobo emphasized that the creation of Republika Srpska was the crown of the Serbs' struggle for survival west of the Drina River. He stressed that the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, as a fundamental feature of democracy and statehood, must be preserved at all costs. "We must also make it representative and worthy of the institution that made crucial decisions during the difficult years of the 1990s," Škobo said. He noted that the Serb people have lived in this region for a very long time and have endured brutal attempts at extermination and immense suffering. "We survived despite all this, steadfastly preserving our national identity and religious beliefs," Škobo said. The Assembly of the Serb People in BiH was founded in Sarajevo on October 24, 1991. At its first session, a plebiscite was called and a declaration adopted stating that the Serb people would remain in a common state – Yugoslavia. A referendum in which the Serbs voted to remain in Yugoslavia was held on November 9 and 10, 1991. At the time, Serb MPs believed that the establishment of the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH and the formation of Republika Srpska were necessary to preserve the identity and statehood of the Serbs in BiH. On January 9, 1992, members of the National Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Proclamation of the Republic of the Serb People in BiH, and this day is commemorated in Republika Srpska as Republic Day. On February 28, 1992, the National Assembly adopted the Constitution, establishing the foundation of the legal authority, security, legality, and legitimacy of Republika Srpska.