Bećirović: The 'All-Serbian Assembly' Declaration Threatens International Law and Reincarnates the Greater Serbia Project

(Patria) - On the occasion of the so-called 'All-Serbian Assembly', the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović, stated the following:

"While the entire European Union and countries on the path to the EU are building interstate relations based on mutual respect and recognition, the President of the Republic of Serbia is heading in a completely opposite direction. No head of state in modern Europe would even consider organizing an 'all-French', 'all-German', 'all-Italian', 'all-Polish', 'all-Spanish' assembly. This dangerous project by the President of Serbia is directly
linked to Russia's attempts to destabilize Southeastern Europe and divert attention from Russian aggression against Ukraine.

"The organization of the 'All-Serbian Assembly' by Serbia and the BiH entity of RS is absolutely contrary to the practice in the democratic and civilized world that respects international law, and therefore represents an extremely dangerous step with unforeseeable consequences. The text of the 'Declaration on the Protection of National and Political Rights and the Common Future of the Serbian People' is particularly scandalous, as it does not respect international and national law, nor the existence of an independent, sovereign, and indivisible state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The President of the Republic of Serbia, by advocating for the realization of the dark idea of 'one nation, one assembly', negates the international legal significance of the territorial principle as the basis for exercising sovereign power. He is attempting to establish an unprecedented practice of joint sessions and decision-making by the highest bodies of the Republic of Serbia and an administrative-territorial unit within the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Bećirović emphasized.

He added: Greater Serbian policy is dangerous for the entire European continent. Apart from the President of the Republic of Serbia, there is no president in Europe who, contrary to international and national law, organizes joint assemblies between one state (Republic of Serbia) and an administrative-territorial unit (the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity RS) which is an integral part of an internationally recognized state (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

"Furthermore, apart from the President of Serbia, there is no head of state who attempts to unilaterally determine the foreign policy of another sovereign state, and in doing so, acts contrary to the adopted laws, strategies, and other documents of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The content of the adopted 'All-Serbian Assembly' Declaration represents a flagrant violation of international law and the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, the adopted 'All-Serbian Assembly' Declaration represents an undermining of the fundamental principles on which the European Union is based and the basic international principles on which interstate relations among United Nations member states are founded," Bećirović stated.

"In accordance with international provisions, the territorial principle is a fundamental concept that enables states to effectively manage and regulate behavior within their state territory, ensuring legal order and the protection of the rights of their citizens and all others within their borders, in combination with other principles. It represents the basis for the exercise of sovereign power by an internationally recognized state, and
Bosnia and Herzegovina is an internationally recognized state and a full member of the UN. This is one of the principles on which interstate relations within the UN are based. The establishment and anti-Dayton activities of the 'All-Serbian Assembly' represent a threat to peaceful and equal cooperation among European states. Such a
scenario only suits Putin's Russia, and therefore it is no coincidence that the highest Russian officials have publicly supported the holding of the 'All-Serbian Assembly'.

The revival of the criminal Greater Serbia project requires a coordinated, unified, and decisive response from democratic forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially from the states that are witnesses to the Dayton Peace Agreement, in order to prevent the aspirations of the Republic of Serbia for a greater state towards the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina from causing a tragic replay of the 1990s," Bećirović concluded.