The Embassy of the United States of America (USA) in Bosnia and Herzegovina announced today the celebration of the Republika Srpska Day on January 9, a date declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“In several of its rulings, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly pointed out that celebrating the Day of the Republika Srpska on the ninth of January is unconstitutional. The problem does not lie in the celebration of the holiday, but in the decision to celebrate it on the ninth of January. Connecting that celebration with an Orthodox religious holiday contradicts several the provisions of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina which prohibit discrimination. This is a matter of the law, not someone’s opinion,” stated the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina on social networks.
They stated that Article III (3) of the Dayton Constitution stipulates that the entities must fully comply with the decisions of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the final and binding judgments of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“According to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, disobeying the judgments of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a criminal offense. And this is a matter of the law, not someone’s opinion,” the announcement states.
As further pointed out, the United States of America expects relevant law enforcement and judicial institutions to investigate any violation of the law related to the celebration of Republika Srpska Day on January 9.
“The United States has reacted to anti-Dayton actions before and will not hesitate to do so in the future,” the US Embassy statement concluded.
