34 scientists and researchers from several universities from Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in this event, who presented their works on the Declaration of the ‘All-Serbian Parliament’ through different segments.
After the presented works, conclusions and recommendations were made and published, which we transmit in full:
1. The declaration of the “All-Serbian Assembly” is not limited to the cooperation of the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska and the Republic of Serbia in the field of culture and tradition, as it was tried to be presented in public and as misinterpreted by some representatives of the international community. Moreover, the Declaration goes beyond the framework of special parallel relations allowed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, threatening the sovereignty, territorial integrity, international subjectivity and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina (values that are protected by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and are guaranteed exclusively to the state and not to its entities). In addition, ignoring the constitutional competences of Bosnia and Herzegovina; harmonization of the legal education, energy, construction and every other system, i.e. mutual harmonization of legislation; the administrative practice of celebrating joint, single-national holidays and the continuous mono-ethnicization and Orthodoxization of the Republika Srpska entity represent a violation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and undermine the peace and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2. The concept of the “Serbian world” has evolved from an ideological narrative into an operationalized strategy aimed at re-articulating Serbian hegemony in the region through political, security and cultural dimensions. The declaration of the “All-Serbian Assembly” represents the formalization of this concept, striving to create a “soft” sphere of influence of Serbia in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, whereby the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, is the central element of that strategy. The strategy combines two parallel approaches: the institutional weakening of Bosnia and Herzegovina through internal disintegration processes and the gradual integration of the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska ‒ contrary to national and international law ‒ into the political, legal, economic, educational and cultural fabric of Serbia. This two-tiered model reflects a long-term aspiration towards the establishment of a de facto, and under favorable international circumstances, a de jure political union.
3. Actions taken by the entity Republika Srpska, which refer to displaying the flag and coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia and singing the national anthem; the commemoration of January 9, as well as the affirmation of common – national holidays; placing the Serbian language and the Cyrillic alphabet in a privileged position; marking the entity as an exclusively ethnic state of the Serbian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina; use of the term “joint institutions” for institutions of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina; affirmation of the entity’s right to unilaterally activate the competences of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as its own; determining the content of the History subject only and exclusively from the perspective of the Serbian nationalist historical matrix is a repetition of the behavior of this entity, which the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared unconstitutional through its earlier decisions. The persistence of the Republika Srpska in unconstitutional actions and defiance of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its institutions cannot be understood in any other way but as continuous disloyal behavior towards the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, against which the state institutions and the institutions of the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially the Prosecutor’s Office and The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina must fight, process and sanction more decisively and violently.
4. Since the adoption of the Declaration until today, numerous memorandums and agreements have been concluded between the institutions (governments and ministries) of the Republic of Serbia and the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska in various social areas (higher education, scientific and technological development, mining, energy, public health, demography, internal jobs).
Given that the content of these acts, in whole or in part, is in contradiction with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is necessary for the defenders of the constitution to fulfill their constitutional task and initiate the process of evaluating their constitutionality. Previously concluded agreements/memorandums/acts between the entities of the RS and the State of Serbia after the conclusion of the Agreement on Special Parallel Relations from 2006 should also be subject to constitutionality control. In addition, in accordance with earlier judicial practice, it is necessary to initiate the procedure for evaluating the constitutionality of the Declaration of the “All-Serbian Parliament” and the Conclusions adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia on the occasion of the adoption of the Declaration, and to request the Constitutional Court to abolish them and thus eliminate them from the legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina .
5. The “Serbian World” strategy relies on the anticipation of “favorable” geopolitical changes in order to ensure space for the realization of long-term territorial ambitions towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. This points to a sophisticated and long-term geopolitical calculation that takes into account Russia’s additional malignant influence in the Western Balkans, as well as reliance on alliances with ultra-right and ultra-nationalist parties in Europe.
6. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s political subjects should point out all the negative and harmful implications of the Declaration of the “All-Serbian Parliament”, contrary to national and international law, on the state sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and overall interstate relations. Any conversation with Serbian political leaders should be conducted at the state level, not at the ethnic, Serb-Bosniak level.
7. The list of open issues with the Republic of Serbia should be intensified and resolved through interstate talks – from interstate border issues, through disputed energy facilities, to the cooperation of state prosecutors’ offices.
8. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state authorities should develop a comprehensive diplomatic strategy that will inform the international community in detail about the destabilizing implications of the “Serbian World” strategy. This includes using procedures within international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, NATO and the OSCE to strengthen support for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
9. The international community, using the established mechanisms, including the mandate of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Peace Implementation Council, is obliged, in order to preserve peace and security and fully implement the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to declare the Declaration of the “All-Serbian parliament” with the anti-Dayton, destructive and null document and annul the decisions and conclusions of the National Assembly and the Government of the Republic of Srpska related to the Declaration in question.
10. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a secular state that operates on the principle of the rule of law and democracy. The unlawful interference of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the affairs of the state and the establishment of supremacy of the Church over the secular government, as well as the pretension of the Serbian Orthodox Church to become the dominant political force that dictates relations in the Balkans, is not acceptable.
11. The declaration, as well as the accompanying narratives of political, academic, cultural and religious representatives who advocate it, consciously articulate a revisionist approach that reinterprets legal, historical and political realities, denying and relativizing established and adjudicated facts, especially the genocide in and around Srebrenica in July 1995 . year. This is particularly reflected in institutional projects such as the establishment of the “Republika Srpska Memorial Center”, as well as the work of the Republic Center for Research on War, War Crimes and the Search for Missing Persons, and the adaptation of educational programs to revisionist interpretations.
12. The academic and research community in Bosnia and Herzegovina should devote itself to the development of narratives that deconstruct revisionist interpretations of the “Serbian world”. This includes scientific research, publications and public campaigns that affirm legal, judicial and historical facts, concluded the participants of the aforementioned scientific meeting in Sarajevo.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
