The Serbian state flag was placed at the entrance to the headquarters of the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, on February 13, a day after the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina banned it.
Alongside the flag of Serbia, there is also that of Republika Srpska, but not any other symbol of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of which Republika Srpska is also an administrative unit.
At the same time, the honor platoon of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) in this entity performed the Serbian anthem "Lord of Justice", as part of preparations for the welcome of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Banja Luka, and the joint celebration of Serbian Statehood Day and the so-called Statehood Day of Republika Srpska.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina temporarily repealed provisions of the law in Republika Srpska that allowed the display of symbols of foreign states, explaining that such a thing could be interpreted as a “violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a part of its territory.”
"The display of symbols of foreign states alongside symbols of entities, with or without symbols of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, may create the illusion of the non-existence of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina," the country's Constitutional Court declared in its decision dated February 12.
Not far from the Republika Srpska palace, on two high masts in the courtyard of the Temple of Christ the Savior, flags of Serbia and Republika Srpska were also placed.
Dodik announced their installation as part of the joint celebration of the Statehood Day of the Serbian state and Republika Srpska.
At the All-Serbian Assembly on June 8 last year in Belgrade, it was decided that the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia would also be celebrated as the "Statehood Day" of Republika Srpska and would be marked jointly.
Republika Srpska is not a state, but an administrative unit of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The controversial word is 'statehood' and its attribution to an administrative unit within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The adoption of the document in the so-called All-Serb Assembly was condemned by members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Becirović and Željko Komšić, as well as by the European Union and the United States of America.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić last visited Banja Luka in August 2023, when he said that United States sanctions against the leadership of Republika Srpska and Serbia "do not exist for his country."
The entire leadership of Republika Srpska, headed by Dodik, is on the US sanctions list for activities that undermine the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to prohibit the display of flags of other countries in Republika Srpska remains in force until the final decision of this court regarding amendments to the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms and Anthem of Republika Srpska./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
