Banjaluka – Srpska MPs agree with the opinion that marking March 1 as the so-called day of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s independence is absolutely unacceptable for Republika Srpska because that date was an overture into the armed conflict in these parts.
National Assembly deputy speaker Nenad Stevandic has pointed out that the Bosniaks insist on something that divided BiH and that, judging by their behaviour and way of thinking, they have not moved much further from 1992.
“On that date, Serb wedding guest Nikola Gardovic was killed in Sarajevo, which incident was followed by an all-out bloodshed in BiH. Bosniaks created the model of the story of aggression and an independent BiH, even though there is no historical or legal grounds for something like that,” Stevandic told Srna, adding that a state-level law on holidays needs to be established.
Radovan Viskovic, head of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) deputies club in the Srpska parliament, has emphasised that the murder of Nikola Gardovic in Sarajevo triggered the war in BiH.
“All of us in BiH have paid an enormous price after March 1, 1992. The BiH Serbs will never recognise that date as the so-called independence day,” Viskovic told Srna.
Spomenka Stevanovic, head of the Democratic People’s Alliance (DNS) deputies club in the parliament, says that there is no law on holidays and that the Bosniaks abuse the joint institutions in order to observe the dates such as March 1.
“The Bosniak politicians are working to destroy BiH, because with the moves they make, they provoke legitimate resistance from Republika Srpska and all of the Serb political parties,” Ms Stevanovic said.
Branislav Borenovic, head of the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) deputies club, says that in Republika Srpska, March 1 is never going to be marked as the so-called BiH independence day.
“If we were living in a normal state, no one would ever observe that date. Bosniaks have proved that they live in the past and Republika Srpska has no intention of responding to such provocations,” said Borenovic.
On March 1, 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence, where 62.7 percent of Muslim and Croat voters voted for independence and a breakup from the then Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).
The present-day Federation of BiH marks the day as the “independence day” while the Serbs in BiH see this date as the day when an illegitimate decision was made by the Muslim and Croat people against the Serb interests.
On March 1, 1992, Serb wedding guest Nikola Gardovic was killed outside the Serbian Orthodox Church at Bascarsija in central Sarajevo, and fire was set to a Serbian flag, which incident portended the civil war in the former Bosnia and Herzegovina.
