A Day of Mourning has been declared in Republika Srpska (RS) today, marking the 34th anniversary of the start of the tragic conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
This decision was made by the RS Government at the initiative of the relevant ministry and the Veterans’ Organization of the RS (BORS), Radio Television of the RS (RTRS) reported.
BORS previously announced that March 1 is not a holiday, but the date of the beginning of the tragic conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because on that day in 1992, Serbian wedding groom Nikola Gardović was killed in Baščaršija, when a wedding procession in front of an old Orthodox church was attacked. Orthodox priest Radenko Mirović was also wounded at that time.
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina marks Independence Day of BiH today, the day when citizens, mostly of Bosniak and Croat ethnicity, decided 34 years ago by almost a two-thirds majority in a referendum to leave the former SFRY and live in an independent state.
This day is not celebrated in Republika Srpska, because Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina voted in a plebiscite in November 1991 to remain in the former common state.
The referendum on the independence of BiH was called for February 29 and March 1, 1992, and citizens voted by answering the question: “Are you in favor of a sovereign and independent BiH, a state of equal citizens, of the peoples of BiH – Muslims, Serbs, Croats and members of other peoples who live in it?”.
2.073.568 voters took part in the referendum, and 99,44 percent voted for independence. The turnout was 63,7 percent.
The results of the referendum also enabled international recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent state.
Independent Bosnia and Herzegovina was first recognized by Bulgaria, and after Germany, which recognized the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 6, recognition was followed by other European countries, and then by the United States.
After signing the Dayton Agreement, BiH never adopted a single state law on holidays, so each of the two entities has its own state holidays, with only New Year’s Day and May 1st, International Labor Day, in common.
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