Republika Srpska

History

Creation

Representatives of main political and national organizations and institutions of Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina met on 13 October 1990, in Banja Luka and created "Serbian National Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina" as a coordinative and representative political body. The governing coalition of Bosnia and Herzegovina collapsed after the parliament of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo passed a 'memorandum on sovereignty' on 15 October 1991, that was opposed by Bosnian Serb members. After the walkout of Bosnian Serb representatives, the memorandum was adopted. It declared the republic a sovereign and independent state and rejected "any constitutional solutions for a future Yugoslav community which would not include both Croatia and Serbia". In response, on 24 October 1991, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) formed the Assembly of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the representative body of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina and declared that the Serb people wished to remain in Yugoslavia. Bosnian Serbs claimed that this was a necessary step since the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time, defined that no major changes were to be granted short of a unanimous agreement on all three sides. The Party of Democratic Action (SDA), led by Alija Izetbegović, was determined to pursue independence and was supported by Europe and the U.S. The SDS made it clear that if independence was declared, Serbs would secede as it was their right to exercise self-determination.

In the fall of 1991, the SDS organised the creation of "Serb Autonomous Regions" (SAOs) in Bosnia where Serbs formed the majority consisting of the SAO East and Old Herzegovina, SAO Bosnian Krajina, SAO Romanija and SAO North-Eastern Bosnia. They comprised nearly one-third of Bosnia's municipality and about 45% of its ethnic Serb population. Similar steps were taken by the Bosnian Croats. A Bosnian Serb referendum that asked citizens whether they wanted to remain within Yugoslavia was held on 9 and 10 November 1991, passing in favor of staying within Yugoslavia. The parliamentary government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (with a clear Bosniak and Croat majority) asserted that this plebiscite was illegal, but the Bosnian Serb assembly acknowledged its results. On 21 November 1991, the Assembly proclaimed that all those municipalities, local communities, and populated places in which over 50% of the people of Serbian nationality had voted in favor of remaining in a joint Yugoslav state, would be territory of the federal Yugoslav state.

On 9 January 1992, the Bosnian Serb assembly adopted a declaration on the Proclamation of the Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 28 February 1992, the constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbian: Srpska Republika Bosna i Hercegovina / Српска Република Босна и Херцеговина) was adopted and declared that the state's territory included Serb autonomous regions, municipalities, and other Serbian ethnic entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (including regions described as "places in which the Serbian people remained in the minority due to the genocide conducted against them during World War II"), and it was declared to be a part of the federal Yugoslav state.

Bosnian War

On 12 May 1992, at a session of the Bosnian Serb assembly, Radovan Karadžić announced the six "strategic objectives" of the Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Establish state borders separating the Serb people from the other two ethnic communities.

Set up a corridor between Semberija and Krajina.

Establish a corridor in the Drina river valley, that is, eliminate the Drina as a border separating Serbian states.

Establish a border on the Una and Neretva rivers.

Divide the city of Sarajevo into Serb and Bosniak parts and establish effective state authorities in both parts.

Ensure access to the sea for Republika Srpska.

At the same session, the Bosnian Serb assembly voted to create the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS; Vojska Republike Srpske), and appointed Ratko Mladić, the commander of the Second Military District of the Yugoslav federal army, as commander of the VRS Main Staff. At the end of May 1992, after the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Second Military District was essentially transformed into the Main Staff of the VRS. The new army immediately set out to achieve by military means the six "strategic objectives" of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the goals of which were reaffirmed by an operational directive issued by General Mladić on 19 November 1992).

The VRS expanded and defended the borders of Republika Srpska during the Bosnian War. By 1993 Republika Srpska controlled about 70% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina with final agreement (Dayton Agreement) in 1995 appropriating to Republika Srpska control over 49% of the territory.

In 1993 and 1994, the authorities of Republika Srpska ventured to create the United Serb Republic.

Army

The Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) was founded on 12 May 1992 from the remnants of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from which Bosnia and Herzegovina had seceded earlier in 1992. When the Bosnian War erupted, the JNA formally discharged 80,000 Bosnian Serb troops. These troops, who were allowed to keep their heavy weapons, formed the backbone of the newly formed Army of the Republika Srpska. There was also volunteers from Christian Orthodox countries. According to the ICTY, volunteers from Russia, Greece, and Romania fighting for the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) numbered between at least 500 to more than 1,500. Other estimate vary depending on sources, with some estimate from 529 and 614, other claim that number is well over 1,000 volunteers from Orthodox countries. The supreme commander of the VRS was General Ratko Mladić. The VRS was organized into six geographically based corps.

Economy

During the first two years of the war, Republika Srpska issued its own unique currency, the Republika Srpska dinar. This currency was pegged to the Yugoslav dinar. The Serb, Croat and Bosniak authorities all issued their own dinar currencies in the territories they controlled, printing large excess of money to finance their operations which resulted in high inflation. The electronic payment system of Republika Srpska was integrated with the system of the Republic of Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska's National Bank saw itself as a branch of the Central Yugoslav Bank in Belgrade. The inflation experienced in Yugoslavia thus transferred to Republika Srpska causing hyperinflation and eventual collapse of its currency in 1994. The National Bank of Yugoslavia (CBCG) also cut the Republika Srpska off, preventing it from redeeming its currency there and refusing to send more due to the CBCG's lack of foreign exchange assets. Afterwards, Republika Srpska did not form its own currency and continued to use the Yugoslav one. In 1999, it adopted the convertible mark.

Unemployment was a major problem which the war exacerbated. Nearly a third of the workforce was in industry, mining and energy and the pre-war non-agricultural unemployment rate was at 27%. In 1996, UNESCO estimated that the unemployment rate in Republika Srpska was 90%. Following the signing of the Dayton Accords, recovery in Republika Srpska was slower than in the Federation, as it received only 2-3% of the Western Aid to Bosnia. There was zero growth. Inflation was at 30%. Non-agricultural unemployment was at 60%, the average wage at 60 Deutsche Marks and pension at 33 DM. Government expenditures were also drastically higher than in the Federation.

Education

In 1992-1993, the curriculum of Republika Srpska underwent changes to conform more towards Serbia. Adaptations were made in the subjects of history, social sciences, history and geography while religion became compulsory. In 1996, education was 6.1% of the Republika Srpska budget. There were 90 secondary schools and 54 vocational schools. The University Act of 23 July 1993 propelled the legal formation of post-secondary education in Republika Srpska, governing two Universities: The University of Banja Luka and University of East Sarajevo. UNESCO estimated there were more than 10,000 University students in 1996.

Aftermath

In November 1995 the Dayton Agreement was signed by presidents of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia that ended the Bosnian war. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) was defined as one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and comprised 51% of the territory. The Republika Srpska (RS) comprised the other 49% with Banja Luka serving as its capital.

Refugees

As a result of Operation Storm, nearly 200,000 Serbs fled from Croatia and a large portion of them found refuge in Bosnia, especially in Republika Srpska.

After the signing of the Dayton agreement, more than 60,000 Serbs left Sarajevo and other parts of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina whether by choice or force, particularly after the territorial provisions were enforced to comply with the agreement.

Reforms

After the war numerous laws were passed by the Republika Srpska authorities under the auspices of the international community acting through the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Many laws dealt with the issues and consequences of the war and served to repair some of the problems created such as annulments of ill-fate contracts that required non-Serbs to "voluntarily" turn over their properties to the Republika Srpska including real-estates and businesses taken during the war.

Many constitutional changes were also made to change the social character of the Republika Srpska from mono-ethnic to a multi-ethnic entity and thus including Bosniaks and Croats as constituent peoples of Republika Srpska. Some of the names of the cities that were changed during the war by the authorities of Republika Srpska were changed back. Most of the changes were done as to retract effects of ethnic cleansing and allow refugees to return, but also as a response to numerous reports of human rights abuses that were taking place in the entity.

However, most of the changes had very little effect on a return of more than a million refugees. Intimidation of returnees were quite common and occasionally escalated into violent riots as in the case of Ferhadija mosque riots in Banja Luka in 2001. Consequently, the views concerning Republika Srpska are different among various ethnic groups within the Bosnia and Herzegovina. For Serbs, the Republika Srpska is a guarantee for their survival and existence as a people within these territories. On the other hand, for some ethnic Bosniaks, who were ethnically cleansed from Republika Srpska, the creation, existence, name and insignia of this entity remains a matter of controversy.

Report on Srebrenica

In September 2002, the Republika Srpska Office of Relations with the ICTY issued the "Report about Case Srebrenica". The document, authored by Darko Trifunović, was endorsed by many leading Bosnian Serb politicians. It concluded that 1,800 Bosnian Muslim soldiers died during fighting and a further 100 more died as a result of exhaustion. "The number of Muslim soldiers killed by Bosnian Serbs out of personal revenge or lack of knowledge of international law is probably about 100...It is important to uncover the names of the perpetrators in order to accurately and unequivocally establish whether or not these were isolated instances." The International Crisis Group and the United Nations condemned the manipulation of their statements in this report.

In 2004, the international community's High Representative Paddy Ashdown had the Government of Republika Srpska form a committee to investigate the events. The committee released a report in October 2004 with 8,731 confirmed names of missing and dead persons from Srebrenica: 7,793 between 10 and 19 July 1995 and further 938 people afterwards.

The findings of the committee remain generally disputed by Serb nationalists, who claim it was heavily pressured by the High Representative, given that an earlier RS government report which exonerated the Serbs was dismissed. Nevertheless, Dragan Čavić, the president of Republika Srpska, acknowledged in a televised address that Serb forces killed several thousand civilians in violation of the international law, and asserted that Srebrenica was a dark chapter in Serb history.

On 10 November 2004, the government of Republika Srpska issued an official apology. The statement came after a government review of the Srebrenica committee's report. "The report makes it clear that enormous crimes were committed in the area of Srebrenica in July 1995. The Bosnian Serb Government shares the pain of the families of the Srebrenica victims, is truly sorry and apologises for the tragedy." the Bosnian Serb government said.

In April 2010, a resolution condemning the crimes committed in Srebrenica was rejected by representatives of parties from Republika Srpska.

In April 2010, Milorad Dodik, the prime minister of Republika Srpska, initiated a revision of the 2004 report saying that the numbers of killed were exaggerated and the report was manipulated by a former peace envoy. The Office of the High Representative responded and stated that: "The Republika Srpska government should reconsider its conclusions and align itself with the facts and legal requirements and act accordingly, rather than inflicting emotional distress on the survivors, torture history and denigrate the public image of the country".