KARAN: PRESERVING SRPSKA’S CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION FOUNDATION OF ITS STABILITY

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 28 /SRNA/ –Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan says that people’s will, strong institutions, economic self-sustainability, and respect for the Constitution and the Dayton Peace Agreement are key to preserving Republika Srpska.

Karan said that over the past three decades, Republika Srpska had been subjected to numerous pressures, but that its institutions and people’s support had enabled it to survive. “People’s will is crucial. Republika Srpska was created by its people,” Karan emphasized. He said that various institutions of Republika Srpska had come under attack, including the office of the president of the Republic, the National Assembly, and the Government, but that the institutions had always had strong people’s support behind them. Karan emphasized the importance of the BiH Constitution, namely Annex 4 of the Dayton Peace Agreement, stating that Republika Srpska had been internationally and legally recognised by it. “Within itself, Republika Srpska, as a separate federal unit, has full sovereignty,” Karan said. He said that various decisions by the High Representatives had altered the competencies and constitutional structure of BiH outside the constitutional procedure. “Only what is changed in the Constitution can be legitimate, legal, and lasting, but the Constitution can only be amended with the consent of Republika Srpska,” Karan noted. Karan said that Republika Srpska is economically self-sustainable today, which gives it the strength to be politically self-sustainable as well. “There is no political independence without economic independence, especially today in this multipolar world, when it has become clear that when you do not have economic stability, you are very easily susceptible to political influence,” Karan said. He added that economic stability is extremely important for the overall stability of Republika Srpska. “Srpska is also a secure environment, as security is our priority,” Karan said. Speaking about the work of incomplete Constitutional Court of BiH, Karan said that the court had issued many decisions against Republika Srpska without citing any constitutional provision when making those decisions. “They have certainly done more harm than all the high representatives in BiH. High representatives are simply tyranny and force, but it is very difficult to explain how the Constitutional Court can issue decisions that have no constitutional basis,” Karan said. He added that this was also part of ongoing attempts to centralize BiH into a unitary state. “The essence of those decisions was unitarization. The Serb people would no longer be equal in unitary BiH,,” Karan said.