Constitutional Court of RS decides, referendum on January 9 does not threaten Bosniaks

The Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska has ruled that the vital national interest of Bosniaks has not been violated by the decision to call a referendum on January 9, which is celebrated in RS as the day of this BiH entity, Patria writes.

The Constitutional Court of BiH declared January 9, celebrated as the Day of RS, unconstitutional, but the authorities from Banja Luka refuse to accept such a decision. The authorities from RS have announced that citizens of RS will decide on this issue in a referendum, scheduled for September 25. The referendum has also been supported by opposition parties.

The referendum question is: "Do you support that January 9 be marked and celebrated as the Day of Republika Srpska?".

The Club of Delegates of the Bosniak people from the Council of Peoples of Republika Srpska believes that the referendum on January 9 threatens the vital national interest of Bosniaks. They requested protection from the Constitutional Court of RS. However, the Court ruled that the referendum does not threaten the vital national interest of Bosniaks.

The Vice President of Republika Srpska, Ramiz Salkić, earlier told the Bosnian news agency Patria that he does not expect much from the Constitutional Court of RS, because the Court is under the influence of politics.

- The Court is under the direct control of the President of RS, Milorad Dodik, the National Assembly of RS, and the Council of Peoples of RS – said Salkić.

- And the fact that the issue of January 9 very quickly found its way onto the agenda of the Constitutional Court of RS tells us that the authorities want to remove all barriers that could potentially hinder the holding of the referendum as soon as possible – says Salkić.

He called on the OHR and the High Representative in BiH, Valentin Inzko, to stop the referendum, because it is a blow to Dayton.
Salkić believes that if the referendum on January 9 passes, every time the authorities in RS do not like a decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, they will call a referendum. The existence of the Constitutional Court of BiH becomes meaningless, Patria writes.