In Banja Luka, almost nothing reminds of the referendum, many don't even know what is being decided

In Banja Luka, almost nothing reminds of the referendum on the celebration of January 9, which the authorities of this BiH entity announced for Sunday, reports Patria reporter.

Many Banja Luka residents, Serbs, don't even fully understand what the referendum is deciding. Some of them even think it is a referendum on the secession of RS from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosniaks in Banja Luka are also confused. Only yesterday did they receive instructions from the Vice-President of RS, Ramiz Salkić, to ignore the referendum.

On Krajina Square, there are only stands of political parties. Seven days after the referendum, local elections are being held in BiH. There is little talk about the referendum on the square as well. The impression is that the authorities are actually advertising the referendum more through the media than discussing it among citizens.

The story about the referendum has heated up the atmosphere in BiH in recent days. There was even talk of weapons. Cooler heads in BiH are calling for de-escalation of tensions. Analysts warn that some government media may be most to blame, and the inter-ethnic atmosphere in the country has once again sharpened, even though BiH emerged from war only 20 years ago.

The Constitutional Court of BiH declared the celebration of January 9 as the Day of RS unconstitutional. The authorities from Banja Luka do not want to accept the Court's decision, which is why the President of RS, Milorad Dodik, initiated a referendum on this issue. 

Another decision of the Constitutional Court was the ban on the announced referendum, but the politicians leading the BiH entity of Republika Srpska do not want to comply with it either. 

The international community believes that by not respecting the decisions of the Constitutional Court, the authorities from RS are leading the citizens of this BiH entity into isolation, writes Patria.