Natalija Trivic, the Education Minister in Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb-dominated entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said on Monday her Ministry and Serbia's Education Ministry would start working on a law to protect the Cyrillic alphabet.

Radio Free Europe (RFE) said that Milorad Dodik the RS member of Bosnia Presidency, and Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic, announced the adoption of the identical text of the law on July 23.

Trivic said that the law would by no means jeopardise the two other nations in RS,” the Bosniaks and Croats, who use the Latin alphabet.

“The law is meant to protect the Cyrillic, as the alphabet used in RS and Serbia… We have the right to define the language, alphabet and everything that defines the identity of the Serbs,” she added.

According to the  draft law, “Cyrillic alphabet will be mandatory in all state and local institutions and enterprises with the majority of state shares, as well as in professional association which presents its work at the national and international levels.”

It defines the Latin alphabet as a supplementary one, with the mandatory advantage envisaged for the Cyrillic.