Bosnian Serbs to Hold Defiant Celebration

The Bosnian Serb presidency told BIRN that events to mark Republic Day would go ahead on January 9, despite the fact that the annual holiday celebrating the entity's foundation was ruled unconstitutional by the state Constitutional Court because it discriminates against non-Serb residents of Republika Srpska.

The events to mark the date in 1992 on which Bosnian Serbs established Republika Srpska will be attended by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, and the Russian ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Petar Ivancov, as well as a possible top-level delegation from the Belgrade government.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said during a meeting with Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik on December 22 that he would attend the celebration with most of his government. However, his presence has yet to be confirmed.

"We are planning to participate in the celebration, but we still cannot confirm it officially," a spokesperson for Vucic told BIRN on Monday.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic strongly hinted on Sunday that he would attend.

"We don't see how our presence at the commemoration could be wrong," Dacic told Pink TV.

"We respect Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Dayton Agreement [that ended the 1992-95 war], but we also have privileged relations with Republika Srpska," he said.

Republika Srpska's Ministry of Public Administration has confirmed that January 9 will not be a working day in the entity.

The Republika Srpska  presidency's press service told BIRN that the programme for the celebration "has already been adopted by the organising committee, which groups [together] all political parties from the entity".

The ceremony will consist of an Orthodox liturgy at the cathedral...