Milorad Dodik, the separatist leader of Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska, said on January 9 the entity needs no “colonisers and tutors” and once again threatened secession during the celebration of the banned Republic Day holiday.

On January 9, Republika Srpska celebrated Republic Day, which was declared unconstitutional and banned by the state-level constitutional court years ago. This year it takes place after multiple moves by Dodik and his ruling SNSD party to adopt laws rejecting the authority of state-level institutions and of the international community’s high representative Christian Schmidt.

Republic Day marks the 1992 date when Bosnian Serbs declared their state in Bosnia, sparking a four-year war that killed more than 100,000 people and left millions homeless.

“We do not need colonisers or tutors. These people have never lived enslaved. That is why this [celebration] must not be banned, if it is forbidden it means that we have fallen," Dodik said in a speech during celebration ceremony.

He was referring to Western Europe and the US, which have repeatedly condemned Republika Srpska’s secessionist politics.

He added that Republika Srpska considers Serbia and Russia its allies and that it does not want to start another war.

“We do not want any conflicts and we are not going to start a fight. We want our policemen to defend our houses that exist in this region,” Dodik said.

He added that Republika Srpska will respect the state-level constitution but that the entity will push to recover constitutional rights that Dodik claimed were stolen.

Dodik also said that if Schmidt uses his Bonn powers to impose state property law, this would be a red line that will trigger Republika Srpska’s secession – a threat Dodik has been repeating for years.

Dodik’s latest statements provoked an expected negative reaction among the international community. The US embassy issued a statement that the Republic Day has been declared unconstitutional several times.

“The issue is not the celebration of the holiday, but rather the decision to do so on January 9. The linking of the commemoration to an Orthodox religious holiday violates several provisions of the BiH Constitution that prohibit discrimination.  This is a matter of law, not an opinion,” the statement noted.

It added that according to article III (3) of the Dayton Constitution the country’s two entities — the Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska — must comply fully with the decisions of the state-level institutions, including the final and binding rulings of the constitutional court.

“Non-compliance with decisions of the BiH Constitutional Court constitutes a criminal offense under the BiH Criminal Code.  This, too, is a matter of law, not an opinion. The United States’ expectation is that the relevant law enforcement and judicial authorities will investigate any violations of law that occur related to the celebration of the Day of the Republika Srpska on January 9,” it added.

A day earlier, two US F-16 Fighting Falcons flew over the territory of Republika Srpska in a warning against the entity’s “secessionist activity” ahead of the celebration of the banned Republic Day holiday.

The EC also reacted, condemning yet another celebration of Republic Day by Republika Srpska.

“The EU always emphasises that the sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutional order and international recognition of Bosnia & Herzegovina must be preserved. All activities against those principles will lead to serious consequences," the EU’s spokesman for foreign and security policy, Peter Stano, commented as quoted by N1.

He also noted the celebration was unconstitutional.