The constitutional court in Bosnia- Herzegovina's autonomous Serbian region, Republika Srpska, has rejected an attempt by Bosniaks to block a planned referendum on whether to keep celebrating the entity’s statehood day on January 9.
The court ruled on August 11 that the “vital national interest” of Bosniaks living in the entity would not be endangered by the decision to hold the referendum, scheduled for September 25.
In November 2015, Bosnia’s state constitutional court declared the Day of Republika Srpska unconstitutional, saying it discriminates against non-Serb residents of the entity.
The court ordered the Serb-run entity to choose a date that would also be acceptable to the country’s ethnic Croats and Muslims.
On January 9, 1992, Bosnian Serbs proclaimed the “Republic of Serbian people” at a time when Bosnia was still part of Yugoslavia.