Kasim Trnka: Today it is impossible to dispute March 1st as the Day of Independence of BiH

Legal expert Kasim Trnka told BHRT that today it is impossible to dispute March 1st as the Day of Independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Trnka claims, has met more rigorous requirements than other countries that emerged from the breakup of former Yugoslavia in order to have its right to independence recognized.

- Even the announcement that the referendum, and therefore March 1st as the Day of Independence, will be disputed is unsustainable. This is because the international community, at the proposal of the Arbitration Commission and by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the European Community, confirmed that all conditions under international law were met and that the citizens, in a legitimate referendum under international control, without pressure, expressed their will. Therefore, disputing March 1st as the Day of Independence is absolutely unsustainable, claims Kasim Trnka.

All rigorous conditions of the Arbitration Commission met

Trnka remembers the events before BiH's independence and says that due to the need to assess the readiness for independence of the former Yugoslav republics, the so-called Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia was formed, consisting of five presidents of constitutional courts from five European countries: Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, and Germany, i.e., the highest authorities in the field of law. They examined whether each of these applicant countries met the conditions required by the European Community for recognition.

And of course, for Croatia and Slovenia, the Arbitration Commission issued an opinion stating that they fully met the conditions. For Macedonia, it was stated that it also met the conditions, but Greece raised a reservation regarding the name Macedonia, and it was stated that it could possibly be recognized under the name then suggested, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - says Trnka.

As for our country, the Arbitration Commission gave an extremely important opinion no. 4 of January 15, 1992, which states that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a democratic country by its structure, that the rule of law is respected in it, that human freedoms and rights are guaranteed, and that it meets all other criteria required by the EC. However, the Arbitration Commission noted that the request of the Presidency and Government of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina for international recognition was not joined by representatives of the Serb people.

- From this, the commission concludes that the request is not entirely perfect, and then comes the sentence from that fourth opinion of the Arbitration Commission, which states: This position could change if the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina invite all citizens to express themselves in a referendum, without discrimination and without pressure, on whether they want Bosnia and Herzegovina to be an independent state and be internationally recognized as such - claims legal expert Kasim Trnka.

Referendum dispelled all doubts of the international community

That is why the referendum was organized, which was attended by all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including a significant number of Serbs who were not proponents of the SDS policy. In that vote, everyone who participated had the opportunity to mark the answer "FOR" or "AGAINST" under the question: Do you support Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a state of citizens, of equal Serbs, Muslims, and Croats, and members of other nations, being an independent and sovereign state?

- The Election Commission announced the referendum results on March 7th and stated that over 64 percent of all registered voters participated in the referendum, and that, of those who participated, 99.4 percent voted for a sovereign and independent Bosnia and Herzegovina - recalls Kasim Trnka of the great days of BiH's history.

He recalls an interesting fact that the US administration, at the time President George H.W. Bush was in power, did not recognize Croatia and Slovenia, even though it could have done so from January 15th, when the European Commission said they had met all conditions. They waited for the results for BiH. And then, on April 7th, the US recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia on the same day.

Referendum and plebiscite of the Serb people – incomparable!

What legal expert Kasim Trnka particularly wants to emphasize is the fact that the referendum on BiH's independence and the plebiscite of the Serb people on BiH's remaining in Yugoslavia cannot be equated in any way, which, as he says, politicians from RS are trying to do.

- The plebiscite of the Serb people was called by the SDS. So, it was not a state body, but a party body that called the plebiscite, with two ballots for voting. One ballot, which was blue, was intended for Serbs. It asked the question: Do you support Serbs remaining part of Yugoslavia? And for the non-Serb population, who might have appeared at that plebiscite, yellow ballots were provided with the question: Do you support Bosnia and Herzegovina remaining part of Yugoslavia? Of course, that plebiscite covered only those areas where the SDS operated. There was no international supervision. The results were not confirmed by any international body. This means that the plebiscite has no legal validity, although some still try to equate it with the referendum - explains Trnka.

Professor Trnka notes that the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina later adopted the Law on Holidays, which designated March 1st, the second day of the referendum, when the will of the citizens was already clear, as the Day of Independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Furthermore, when the entire package of Dayton solutions was discussed in Dayton, the issue of regulations adopted before Dayton by the legal authorities of RBiH, as well as regulations adopted by Republika Srpska and the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna, since they had effective control over certain territories of BiH, was also discussed.

- And then, in Annex 2 to the Constitution of BiH, this issue was resolved as follows. All regulations adopted before the entry into force of the Constitution, i.e., the Dayton Agreement, will remain in force if they are not in conflict with the Constitution of BiH, until they are resolved differently by another law and agreement. Since the declaration of March 1st as the Day of Independence is not in conflict with Dayton in any way, then there is really no reason to question that law - concludes Trnka.