The deputies of the People’s Assembly of the RS (Republika Srpska) concluded their 11th regular session this morning by voting on the approved points of the agenda, and among other things, they passed the Law on the Amendment of the Law on the Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms, and Anthem.
This law, proposed by the Speaker of the National Assembly of RS, Nenad Stevandić, provides that, in addition to the symbols of RS, the national symbols of Serbia may also be used.
61 deputies voted in favor of this law, 4 were against, and 4 abstained. A total of 69 out of 83 deputies participated in the session.
With the adoption of this law, the Nemanjić coat of arms (the double-headed eagle with a crown) and the anthem “Justice of God” can be used as official symbols of RS. These are the same symbols that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina annulled in 2006 from the official symbols of Republika Srpska, ruling that they discriminated against Bosniaks and Croats in the entity.
However, with the changes in the existing law in RS, the Nemanjić coat of arms and the anthem “Justice of God” are being reintroduced through a provision that allows the flags and coats of arms to be displayed in the institutions of that entity, as well as anthems of foreign countries with which RS has agreements for establishing special parallel relations.
Since RS has such an agreement with Serbia, this effectively means that the Serbian anthem “Justice of God” could be played during sessions of the entity’s parliament.
The flag of Serbia with the Nemanjić coat of arms will fly in front of and inside the RS Assembly building.
Deputy Ramiz Salkić considered it “unacceptable” for the aforementioned legal provision to be adopted, as, according to him, the Nemanjić coat of arms links it to the past war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“This symbol (the Nemanjić coat of arms), whatever it meant in the past, will always mean in the future that under it, many people bore this label, and the most heinous war crimes were committed. And as part of the entire project, classified as a joint criminal enterprise, genocide was committed against the Bosniaks,” said Salkić.
Representatives of the pro-Bosniak parties have warned that they will challenge the announced changes if they are passed.
