Bosnian Serbs mark 30th national day with parade showcasing police forces

Around 800 members of the Republika Srpska (RS) police were among the 2,700 marchers with thousands of onlookers lining the capital Banja Luka’s main artery

The celebrations mark 30 years since the Serbs’ declaration of the RS, before the start of the siege of Sarajevo and the conflict that would claim 100,000 lives

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The Republic of Srpska police forces mark the 30th anniversary of the Republic of Srpska in Banja Luka, Bosnia on January 9. Photo: AP

Published: 4:06am, 10 Jan 2022

Bosnia’s Serb entity on Sunday celebrated its 30th anniversary with a parade showcasing its police forces against the backdrop of new stirrings of secessionist ambition.

Around 800 members of the Republika Srpska (RS) police were among the 2,700 marchers – who also included military veterans, aid workers and students – with thousands of onlookers lining the capital Banja Luka’s main artery.

“We formed Republika Srpska because we know there is no freedom for the Serb people if they don’t have their state,” RS leader Milorad Dodic, the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, said at the event.

“The Republika Srpska is our state, whatever they say … Our goal is peace and the defence of our freedom.”

People hold Serbian and Republika Srpska flags during celebrations to mark the autonomous Serb Republic’s national holiday in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 9. Photo: Reuters

Dodic last month set in motion plans to withdraw from Bosnia’s central institutions including the army, the judiciary and the tax system.