Former soldiers, students, and representatives of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s rescue services and police departments marched on January 9 in Banja Luka to mark Republika Srpska Day despite the the country's Constitutional Court declaring it unconstitutional three times.
The marchers carried flags, including the national flag of Serbia and the flag of Republika Srpska, and banners of Republika Srpska military units as the procession passed before a government officials and military officers standing on a dais.
Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, who is recovering from surgery, was not present, but Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who has been blacklisted by the United States, attended the event.
Dodik is under U.S. and U.K. sanctions for actions that Western governments say are aimed at the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia. Dodik has denied that the Serbian entity of Bosnia has ever pursued a policy of secession.
January 9 marks the anniversary of the region's 1992 declaration of independence. Bosniaks and Croats did not participate in the adoption of the declaration and view January 9 as the beginning of the 1992-95 Bosnian War. In years past, the banned holiday has been marked in Banja Luka by parades and marches by armed police.
This year's event took place despite warnings from the international envoy for Bosnia, the EU delegation to Bosnia, and the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo.
International envoy Christian Schmidt warned that disobeying the decisions of the Constitutional Court may constitute a criminal offense and said Bosnia’s law enforcement agencies are obliged to investigate.
The U.S. Embassy noted that the Constitutional Court had ruled on multiple occasions that celebrating the Republika Srpska Day on January 9 is unconstitutional.
“This ruling stands regardless of who participates in the celebration. The issue is not simply commemorating a holiday, but specifically choosing January 9, which coincides with an Orthodox religious holiday and violates several provisions of the [Bosnian] Constitution that prohibit discrimination,” the embassy said on January 8 on X.
The embassy said under the Dayton agreement that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian War all entities in Bosnia are obligated to fully comply with the decisions of Bosnian institutions, including the binding and final rulings of the Constitutional Court.
“Failure to adhere to these rulings constitutes a criminal offense under the [Bosnian] Criminal Code,” the embassy said, adding that the United States expects law enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate.
The Prosecutor-General's Office of Bosnia did not respond to RFE/RL's inquiry about whether an investigation had been launched into this year's commemoration or whether anything had been done about it last year after the Prosecutor-General’s office said it monitored activities on January 9.
The U.S. Treasury Department last year imposed sanctions against three individuals for their work in helping to organize the Republika Srpska Day parade.
The three were members of the organizing committee and participated in a meeting when the event plan was approved. Dodik appointed the committee and demanded it plan the celebration, which included events taking place over three days beginning on January 8.
The Bosnian Serb nationalist leader is on trial for failing to comply with Schmidt’s decisions.
Republika Srpska Interior Minister Sinisa Karan said that after the end of the proceedings against Dodik "it will be known whether the Dayton peace agreement and Bosnia will survive."