On the occasion of January 9, marked as Republika Srpska Day—a date declared unconstitutional multiple times by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina—a Serbian delegation has arrived in this Bosnian entity. Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, along with several ministers, landed at Banja Luka Airport in Mahovljani, and a third plane carrying Ana Brnabic, Speaker of Serbia's National Assembly, is also expected. Additionally, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije arrived at the Banja Luka airport earlier on Wednesday.

The delegation and Patriarch Porfirije were welcomed by Republika Srpska’s Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, who is also set to greet Ana Brnabic upon her arrival.
The delegation will attend a ceremonial parade scheduled for tomorrow at 5 pm on Krajina Square in Banja Luka, the central event of the unconstitutional Republika Srpska Day celebrations. Notably, RS President Milorad Dodik will be absent, as he is recovering from surgery in Belgrade.

In addition to the parade, concerts, plays, and other activities are planned. Today, the celebrations began with wreath-laying at the Monument to Fallen Soldiers, and a formal lecture is scheduled for 4 pm. Later, a reception will take place at the Administrative Center of the RS Government.

Despite the ongoing celebration, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has declared January 9 unconstitutional on three separate occasions.

Statements and lack of legal action

Following the wreath-laying, RS officials spoke to the media. BiH Presidency member Zeljka Cvijanovic stated that “RS is often burdened with hatred, but freedom has been dearly won,” while RS Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić added, “We aim to honour those who founded RS.” Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic claimed, “We are not offending anyone; we just want respect.”

Despite these statements and the event's unconstitutional nature, no legal actions have been taken by state judicial institutions. The Prosecutor's Office of BiH has never prosecuted anyone for celebrating this date, even though it has been ruled unconstitutional.

Why Is January 9 unconstitutional?

The Constitutional Court of BiH has ruled three times that celebrating January 9 as RS Day is unconstitutional. This date marks the 1992 proclamation of the “Republic of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina” by the then-Assembly of Serb People in Sarajevo. The goal was to later annex this part of BiH to the disintegrating Yugoslavia.

The leaders of the self-proclaimed republic—Radovan Karadzic, Biljana Plavsic, and Momcilo Krajisnik—were later convicted of war crimes by the Hague Tribunal. Representatives of Bosniaks and Croats did not participate in the proclamation.

For Bosniaks and Croats, January 9 symbolizes the start of the Bosnian War and the subsequent ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and genocide against non-Serb populations in RS territory.

The then-Republic of BiH Constitutional Court nullified the declaration and the Constitution of the Serb Republic of BiH on February 28, 1992. In November 2015, 23 years later, the BiH Constitutional Court ruled that the RS Law on Holidays article pertaining to RS Day was unconstitutional.

The court’s reasoning referenced events from 1992 and noted that the date coincides with the religious feast of St. Stephen, making it both a national and religious holiday. While the Court did not challenge RS’s right to establish its own day, it stated that January 9 could not serve this purpose.