NEW CONSTITUTION SHOULD RESTORE REPUBLIKA SRPSKA'S ORIGINAL POWERS AND SEVER TIES WITH POLITICAL SARAJEVO

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 15 /SRNA/ - Kosta Čavoški, a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts /SANU/, said that Republika Srpska should restore its original powers through a new constitution, sever all ties with political Sarajevo, and enshrine the right to self-determination in its preamble.

Čavoški welcomed the Republika Srpska leadership's intention to proclaim a new constitution on January 9 next year, Republika Srpska Day. He said the new constitution should restore control over Srpska's borders, customs and tax policy, as well as its military, while retaining control over the police. In a statement to SRNA, Čavoški said that the current Constitution of Republika Srpska had effectively been imposed, as high representatives and their "lackeys" had made drastic changes to it. "This is no longer the original Constitution adopted by Serb political representatives in BiH. I believe that, with a new Republika Srpska constitution, all ties with political Sarajevo and the Muslims in BiH should effectively be severed," Čavoški said. He added that a new Republika Srpska constitution, particularly one restoring control over customs and the border, would bring Srpska significant financial and other benefits. "Republika Srpska should behave like an independent state, regulating everything in its own interests, including taxes," Čavoški said. Regarding the right to self-determination, he believes this could be stated in the preamble to the new constitution. "For example: all peoples in BiH inherently possess the right to self-determination, and so do the Serbs in Republika Srpska, who thereby constitute themselves as an independent state entity, Republika Srpska. This is how the right to self-determination could be formulated, and we will see what happens next," Čavoški explained. In any case, he added, it should also be emphasised that all Serbs have the right to live under a single state roof. Following Darijana Filipović's election as the Croat member of the BiH Presidency, Čavoški said that Republika Srpska should support the establishment of a Croat entity, or a Croat state-forming unit, in BiH. He reminded that such an entity was once known as Herceg-Bosna and said that support should be given to enabling it to secede completely from BiH, leaving the Muslims on their own. "This is an idea that should in some way be envisaged in the Constitution of Republika Srpska. Republika Srpska could then cooperate with Croats in BiH who have constituted themselves as a state, as well as with the remaining Muslims, who would form a separate state-forming unit within BiH," Čavoški explained. According to him, this would resolve most of the existing problems, as BiH would function as a confederal state. "In this regard, Republika Srpska should also have its own Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cooperate as effectively as possible with neighbouring and other countries," Čavoški explained. He believes that political actors in Republika Srpska should realise that Russia is ready to support them more than ever. President Milorad Dodik said that the plan was to proclaim a new Constitution of Republika Srpska on January 9. He said it would be modern, respect the constituent status of the peoples and prevent abuses in the functioning of Republika Srpska. Among other things, he said that the new Constitution would stipulate that Banja Luka is the seat of Republika Srpska, and that Pale is its capital.