Celebrations for Republika Srpska
(RS), Bosnia and Herzegovina's entity with a Serb majority,
began yesterday evening for its National Day, which falls today.
The anniversary is observed and celebrated with great emphasis
and nationalistic spirit, despite the fact that the Bosnian High
Court has repeatedly declared it unconstitutional, and the High
International Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, has
stigmatised the holiday. In fact, the judges believe that this
anniversary discriminates against non-Serb citizens of Republika
Srpska, including Muslim Bosniaks, Catholic Croats, and members
of other minorities. Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb leader and
president of the RS, did not attend the celebrations because he
is still recovering from a complex surgery on his stomach and
oesophagus performed in Belgrade on December 9.
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