Address by the President of the Republic of Srpska, Željka Cvijanović, at the ceremonial academy on the occasion of the Day of the Republic of Srpska:
Your Holiness and
Your Eminences,
Distinguished President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska,
Dear President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia,
Dear Serb member of the Presidency of BiH,
Dear Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska,
Distinguished Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia,
Dear Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces
Distinguished MPs, Ministers and representatives of institutions of the Republic of Srpska and Serbia,
Representatives of the Republic of Srpska in the joint institutions of BiH,
Distinguished members of the Senate,
Distinguished officers, soldiers, fighters and representatives of associations originating from the Defense-Patriotic War,
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors,
Distinguished members of the Karađorđević royal family,
Dear guests,
Dear citizens of the Republic of Srpska,
The President of the Republic emphasized that efforts would be made to upgrade cooperation, so that Northern Macedonia would be even more a partner of Srpska in agricultural fairs.
Today we are proud to mark our first thirty years.
These are three decades since the creation of the Republic of Srpska, thirty years of our freedom and committed work on its preservation, development and construction.
In the period when the Republic of Srpska was created, we did not have the luxury of dividing, arguing with each other and pointing fingers at each other, because we knew that it was the precondition of our survival and the only barrier to outvoting, majoritarianism and new sufferings.
That is why January 9 is the day of our victory, freedom, unity and unbreakable ties between the people and institutions of Srpska.
As part of this holiday, tricolors are flying in all our municipalities and cities, at our institutions and houses.
Thousands of our young people from Herzegovina and Romanija, through Podrinje and Semberija, all the way to Posavina and Krajina, organize every year to mark the birthday of their Republic.
And precisely the essence is that the Ninth of January is contained in that youth and it is the guarantee that it will be marked in the future as well.
The identity of the Republic of Srpska, of which the Ninth of January is an integral and inalienable part, is deeply rooted in the people of these areas, and the identity features are not subject to re-examination, revision or challenge.
We do not mark the Day of the Republic to provoke someone, but as a reminder of an important historical fact, as other republics and other nations of the world do.
And we always do it solemnly, dignifiedly and proudly.
This is a day when we, with special reverence, remember those who gave their lives defending the Republic of Srpska, their homes and families.
We owe them eternal gratitude, but also a persistent struggle for a better future and the preservation of the Republic, in which foundations they have built the most valuable thing they had.
Due to their sacrifice and our unity, we have survived in impossible circumstances, in the media, and then on the battlefield of the most powerful forces of that time, to whom we served as a training ground, a demonstration exercise and a suitable target for their geopolitical goals.
Even then, what is true today proved to be the will of one people, and the Republic of Srpska was certainly the strongest foundation of each political community, and the readiness to fight for it equally decisively in peace is crucial for its survival.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear citizens of the Republic of Srpska,
I am proud of what we have achieved together over the past 30 years.
Despite the numerous challenges that have accompanied us since its inception, the Republic of Srpska manifested its ability to develop and prosper every day.
This is visible even when circumstances are particularly difficult, and there have been many such years.
Finally, the previous year was also marked by political pressures, disputes and impositions.
It was another year of exhausting struggle with the pandemic as well.
Notwithstanding all that, macroeconomic indicators point to the recovery of our economy.
The number of employees and the amount of the average salary are at a record level, which is a great success, but also our great obligation for the following period.
Every year, the Republic of Srpska looks more beautiful and more built.
Despite the difficult times, we have not given up on important projects in the field of transport infrastructure and energy, and we have continued to build new hospitals, schools, kindergartens, cultural centers, sports halls and many other facilities that are important to our citizens.
We need peace and a stable environment for our further development.
Unfortunately, even 26 years after the war and the signing of the Dayton Agreement, many in BiH and abroad have not given up on rewriting what this agreement gave us.
Even the ink on the Dayton Agreement did not dry up either, and strikes began on the Republic of Srpska, the deprivation of constitutionally guaranteed competencies, as well as illegal, anti-democratic and anti-civilization violence of unelected foreigners in BiH to which we were continuously exposed.
Those from Sarajevo and other addresses have responded to our calls for dialogue with threats, both with war and sanctions, because they obviously do not know another language.
But it is not our language, nor is it our policy.
We speak the language of the constitution and democracy because the constitution says what belongs to whom, and democracy requires that representatives elected by the people pass laws and perform other prescribed tasks, and they are responsible for their work only towards their citizens.
We are legalists - we do not ask for more and do not want anything more, and nothing less than what is given to the Republic of Srpska by the Constitution.
In multiethnic states, dialogue and agreement are the key to success. There is no such thing in BiH, but the blame does not lie with the Republic of Srpska.
We reject any false accusation and absurd qualification that we overthrow the constitutional order by demanding respect for the constitution.
The constitutional order has been destroyed by high representatives by imposing unconstitutional solutions, and they are also responsible for the last crisis that hit BiH.
We reject any false accusation and absurd qualification that we overthrow the constitutional order by demanding respect for the constitution.
Dear citizens of the Republic of Srpska,
It is encouraging that in our environment, but also in other countries, there are more and more people who have realized that the picture is not black and white and who increasingly understand what the real problems in BiH are.
But it should be said that all those who understood where the real destruction was, were attacked in the most brutal way first by political Sarajevo, and then by some foreign centers whose interest was to preserve the false stereotype of allegedly guilty and allegedly innocent people.
Of course, this is done deliberately to put pressure on and discourage anyone who could shake that false image of BiH.
BiH is unsuccessful, and unfortunately, it is to the detriment of all of us. But the Republic of Srpska bears neither responsibility nor guilt for its failure.
A state that is a toy in the hands of others and not owned by its citizens simply cannot be successful.
Without internal dialogue, the state does not flourish, but withers.
Not even a thousand commissioned domestic and foreign experts-loudmouths will make it more successful, nor can they preserve it more than domestic forces could. And not by force or hatred, but by benefits it brings to its citizens.
Apart from cooperation within BiH, if there was any, the benefits for our citizens would also come from economic connections at the regional level, but BiH does not want to participate in them.
Therefore, living in the disincentive environment of BiH, in these 30 years of the existence of the Republic of Srpska, we have realized how important it was to preserve the strength of our own institutions, but also the unity of our institutions and citizens.
Dialogue with the social partners is an indispensable form in the search for better solutions and it is important that it is constantly nurtured and improved.
The citizens’ neeeds will remain in the focus of our institutions in the coming period.
Our people have been exposed to numerous problems, but also to injustice, living in a country that functions on the basis of disputes and in which many measure their alleged success by the level of damage they would cause to the Republic of Srpska.
The attitude towards the war, participants in the war, war crimes, as well as the victims has remained unjust.
Let us remember that after the war, international donations were generously sent to the people of the Federation, and rudely denied to the people of the Republic of Srpska.
But we have turned to ourselves and that is why we succeeded.
We, of course, cannot live in the past, but the injustices of the past, if not corrected, would always mark the future.
That is why the Republic of Srpska must preserve its protection mechanisms and stable functioning.
Without strong institutions and its own competencies, it would be like a bird without wings.
We do not mind BiH in which there is no violent centralization and in which domestic, democratically elected institutions do their job and manage processes.
We want to improve cooperation with everyone in the region.
Our natural and strongest support is Serbia, to whose leadership we owe great gratitude for the high level of political understanding, as well as for the numerous realized projects in almost all our municipalities and cities.
We are pleased that we will continue to build together throughout the Republic of Srpska.
Some of the most important planned projects are the construction of the airport in Trebinje, the Buk Bijela hydro power plant, as well as the Banja Luka-Belgrade highway.
We are open for cooperation with all other countries in the region, both bilaterally and through participation in regional initiatives aimed at stronger infrastructural and economic connections of the entire region.
It would be a rational partnership that would bring good results to all of us, not only in the economic but also in the security sense.
It is also important to improve cooperation with our traditionally largest foreign trade partners from the European Union, as well as to open perspectives for new investments with Russia and China and further develop the initiated cooperation with Hungary.
Dear citizens,
In the first 30 years of its existence, the Republic of Srpska has matured as a modern, stable and democratic political community of all its citizens, regardless of their religion and nation.
We have come a long, thorny way together and it was not easy at any stage of our development.
However, with persistence and joint efforts, we have overcome many challenges and obstacles, just as I am convinced that we would overcome those that lie ahead.
The Republic of Srpska and its institutional framework are the only guarantor of our survival, long-term and sustainable economic development, as well as a better and more successful future.
That is why we must preserve its constitutional capacity, stability and strength of our institutions.
For the generations to come, we want to leave a peaceful and secure Republic of Srpska within which they will be able to build a better and more prosperous future for themselves and their families.
And everything we do today, we do with the goal of providing them with conditions to live with dignity, in peace, to be proud of their identity, of their Republic and to be able to express it freely, without pressure, without fear and without threats.
Dear citizens,
Dear citizens,
The time behind us has taught us to truly believe in the Republic of Srpska, in its capacity and ability to move on the path of development.
We believe because we know what we have achieved together so far and what hardships we have overcome.
We are aware of the enormous sacrifices laid at its foundations, the immense pain of thousands and thousands of grieving families, women, mothers and children of adults without their fathers.
We also remember the difficult post-war period, the process of returning and rebuilding homes, the anti-civilization violence of high representatives who sanctioned dozens and dozens of people, without any evidence, by depriving them of basic human rights - the right to work, political action and even judicial protection, and also of the right to an opinion and to express one’s position.
We believe in Srpska, because we know how much effort it took to mitigate the negative effects of the global financial crisis, to cope with catastrophic floods, to deal with the problems of the pandemic, and to resist disempowerment and violent, unconstitutional centralization.
Have we ever wondered what we could do better and more successfully if our projects were not stopped in Sarajevo just because we were implementing them with Serbia, or if we were not exhausting ourselves with income distribution and various international arrangements, or finally if the Federation of BiH paid earned pensions to Serbs who fled to the Republic of Srpska, or that we did not have to be a victim of failure and unsettled political relations in the Federation of BiH.
But today is a holiday, and suffice it to say that everything we have been through in the last three decades has only further strengthened our self-confidence, as well as our people’s faith in institutions that did not turn their backs, but met all challenges, no matter how much that they were heavy.
Dear friends, dear citizens,
Long live the Republic of Srpska!
