The Bosnian Serb leadership commemorated the self-proclaimed “Day of Republika Srpska” on the 9th of January, despite its unconstitutional status and the strong criticism of the international community. This celebration served as another instance of undermining the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, challenging both the European Union and the United States, and reaffirming the increasingly dangerous close ties between the Bosnian Serb political entity and his leader, Milorad Dodik, with Vucic’s Serbia, Orban’s Hungary and Putin’s Russia.
The January 9 holiday marks the anniversary of a pivotal event in 1992, when Bosnian Serbs declared the establishment of their own state within Bosnia, triggering a devastating four-year war that claimed over 100.000 lives and caused hundreds of thousands of refugees. While Bosnian Serbs view the holiday as sacred, for non-Serbs, particularly Bosniaks, it symbolizes the onset of the wartime horrors they endured in the 90s, including war crimes, ethnic cleansing and the genocide in Srebrenica.
Furthermore, in 2015, Bosnia’s Constitutional Court deemed the “Day of Republika Srpska” illegal and unconstitutional, asserting that the event is discriminatory against non-Serbs, i.e. Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats.
Despite its unconstitutionality, this year more than 3.000 participants, including armed police officers, civil protection service members, Bosnian Serb war veterans’ associations paraded again on January 9 through the streets of Banja Luka, the political centre of the Bosnian Serbs, to observe the controversial holiday. The parade featured armoured police vehicles, police cars, helicopters, and, notably, a drone show. During the celebrations, onlookers and marchers in the crowd proudly waved Serb red, blue, and white flags. Members of a special police unit sang songs glorifying the Serb Republic as an autonomous entity. The festivity culminated with a concert and synchronized fireworks across all cities and towns in Republika Srpska. Additionally, a fireworks display took place in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, underscoring the Serbian government’s backing for Dodik’s regime.
Meanwhile, on the occasion Dodik announced that he was giving the Order of Republika Srpska, the highest in the political entity, to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, praised as a leader that “is ready to acknowledge us (Bosnian Serbs) as a real political fact.” In 2023, the same award was given to Vladimir Putin.
Serbs in Bosnia will never relinquish “the day when Republika Srpska was born,” stated Dodik during the celebrations. A staunchly pro-Russian and pro-secessionist nationalist leader under US and British sanctions, Dodik currently holds the position of President of Republika Srpska. “We don’t want conflicts, we want (Bosnian Serb) police officers to defend our freedom and our houses while we sleep peacefully. Ours and that of everyone else who lives on this territory,” he added, stressing that “we are looking at Serbia, we are looking at Russia.”
The international community responded by raising concerns in Brussels, London, and Washington. Western nations are increasingly apprehensive that Russia might attempt to provoke unrest in the Balkans, starting from Bosnia-Herzegovina, as a diversion from the full-scale invasion of Ukraine initiated by Moscow almost two years ago.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe issued a warning, stating that the declaration of January 9 as Republika Srpska’s national holiday constituted an “act of discrimination” and was deemed unconstitutional. The United States also reacted and raised expectation “that the relevant law enforcement and judicial authorities will investigate any violations of law that occur related to the celebration of the Day of the Republika Srpska on January 9”. “The United States has acted to address anti-Dayton actions like this in the past and will not hesitate to do so again in the future,” the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina said. “The European Union has always emphasized that the sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutional order and international personality of Bosnia-Herzegovina need to be maintained” and “any action against these principles will lead to serious consequences,” the EU stated.
Moreover, in a highly symbolic move on the eve of the celebrations, the United States Air Force made a training overfly over Bosnia and Herzegovina with two F-16 Fighting Falcons multirole fighters and one KC-135 Stratotanker, as part of joint air-to-ground training involving US and Bosnian forces. It was a demonstration of support for the integrity of the Balkan country and as a sign of readiness to react, in particular by supporting Bosnian land forces with air strikes in a possible heavy clash.
However, the celebrations proceeded as planned, delivering a fresh blow to the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The January 9’s display orchestrated by Dodik can be read as one of the most dangerous secessionist demonstrations and as another political and symbolical move aimed at challenging and undermining the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its path towards EU integration.
