From prayers for Serbia and Republika Srpska, through the declaration, to folklore.
This is how the “All-Serbian Assembly” was conceived with the name “One nation, one assembly – Serbia and Serbia”.
With the idea of proving Serbian unity, this event, also announced as a “big party”, is being held on Saturday in Belgrade.
It is attended by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the president of the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, as well as officials of the highest institutions of Serbia and Republika Srpska.
Also, representatives of the Serbs of the region and dignitaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church announced their participation.
Representatives of the Serbian List – the main party of the Kosovo Serbs – are also staying in Belgrade, writes Radio Evropa e Lirë.
The Assembly is being held at the time of the strengthening of the rhetoric of the ruling authorities about the “danger of the Serbian people”, due to the adoption in the United Nations of the Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica, which was opposed by Belgrade and Banja Luka.
Serbia lobbied against the adoption of the resolution, because official Belgrade, despite the decisions of international courts, does not recognize the genocide in Srebrenica and uses the designation “terrible crime”.
Initially, the assembly was planned to be held on May 5 and 6, on the two religious holidays, Easter and Saint George.
However, Dodik asked to postpone the holding, after the adoption of the Resolution on Srebrenica. In Srebrenica, members of the Republika Srpska Army killed over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in July 1995.
The resolution, which declares July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide and condemns genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals, was adopted on May 23.
What will the Assembly look like?
The assembly began with prayers in the Temple of Saint Sava, under the leadership of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije.
“We have gathered to pray to God for unity and the unity of our people, as well as for peace between all people and all nations,” said Porfirije.
“We are not against anyone, but we are here for our own good, and for the good of all those who live with us and around us.”
He called for unity and harmony, but also for building peace with everyone.
Later, there will be a meeting of the highest officials of Serbia and the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Republika Srpska, as well as the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirija.
And then a joint meeting of the two governments will be held, in which the presence of church dignitaries was also announced.
At that meeting, as has been warned, the declaration for the protection of national and political rights, as well as the common future of the Serbian people, will have to be approved.
The central note of the manifestation will be in the central Square of the Republic, with 48 folklore ensembles and 2,500 dancers.
The event ends in the evening, with fireworks from the Republic of Serbia Park.
What is known about the warned statement?
A day before the Assembly, the statement was still being harmonized.
Belgrade emphasized that it is quite certain that this document will have a “solid basis” in the Dayton Peace Agreement and in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This is what the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, Nemanja Starović, warned in an appearance on the Serbian public broadcaster – RTS, on June 7.
The Dayton Accords ended the war in 1995 and Bosnia and Herzegovina was defined as a state of two entities – the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Republika Srpska and the Bërcko district.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told reporters, on June 7, that Serbia wants to show “not always unity of views, but unity in determination not to hide our belonging to the same people”.
“As for Republika Srpska (we want to show) respect for the Dayton Peace Agreement, as well as military neutrality and many other principles of Serbia and Republika Srpska,” he added.
A day before the All-Serbian Assembly, the Government of Serbia approved several protocols and memoranda for cooperation with the Government of Republika Srpska.
Why was the Assembly needed?
Assemblies, as a way of making decisions, were practiced in early times.
This old folk-ecclesiastical model of decision-making, which originates from the Middle Ages, has now been brought back to the stage by Vucic and Dodik.
Marko Millosavlević from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, assessed for Radio Free Europe that in this way the concept of the “Serbian world” is being rounded off.
“Citizens of Serbian nationality, both in Serbia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have been presented with their ethnic affiliation as the most important identity, and not their civil rights and freedoms, which are left aside here,” he assessed.
The idea of a “Serbian world” was proclaimed by the pro-Russian vice president of the Government of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, when he was in charge of the Ministry of Defense, while the president of Serbia, Vucic, denied that such a thing is official policy.
Commenting on the holding of the assembly, Millosavlevic says that the great role of the Serbian Orthodox Church can be seen through the activities of this event, but not in the way allowed by the Constitution of Serbia.
“On the contrary, we are seeing a flagrant violation of the principle of secularity”, said Millosavlević.
Noting that cultural and economic cooperation is legitimate, he says that the announcement of the declaration causes “suspicion, even a kind of fear”, especially towards the peoples of the Western Balkans region.
Before the assembly, Dodik met with Putin
The Prime Minister of Serbia, Miloš Vučević and the Speaker of the Assembly, Ana Bërnabič, on June 7, received the officials of the Republic of Serbia at the Raça e Srem crossing (Sremska Raça).
Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska arrived at the assembly after another meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with whom he spoke in St. Petersburg.
Dodik, the pro-Russian leader of the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is under US and British sanctions, thanked Putin that Russia did not vote on the Srebrenica Resolution in the UN General Assembly.
Putin emphasized that Russia is not changing its position regarding the Dayton Agreement and said that “Dayton is the basis for maintaining the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also for development.”
Dodik met with Putin at the moment of the latest political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, caused by the movements of the authorities of the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Republika Srpska – after the adoption of the Resolution on Srebrenica.
On May 30, the Government of Republika Srpska appointed a working group to draft a proposal for an agreement on “peaceful separation” in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On the eve of the assembly, Dodik announced that he would seek Serbia’s support regarding the “separation” of Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Regarding this, Vučić replied that he “cannot” comment on the separation initiative and that Serbia’s position is to respect the Dayton Agreement.
An attempt to secede would be a direct violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which define the status of the two entities./REL