INAUGURAL SPEECH
OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA
RAJKO KUZMANOVIĆ
GIVEN ON THE OCCASION OF TAKING THE OATH OF OFFICE
BEFORE THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA
ON 28 DECEMBER 2007

Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska,
Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Srpska,
Representatives of the Republic of Srpska to the bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Members of Parliament and Ministers,
Your Excellency,
Dear representatives of religious communities,
Distinguished guests and friends,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Fellow citizens of the Republic of Srpska,

I am addressing you and all citizens with a feeling of deep and sincere gratitude for the honour of this hour and highest democratic confidence I was awarded with when you elected me the President of the Republic, the highest office one may take.

By taking this oath of office with the Constitution in my hand, I hereby swear that the Republic shall always be my foremost priority that my most solemn duty shall be to make it a permanent, legal and political fact and that I shall abide by the law in doing so. While addressing this distinguished house, I swear to the citizens of this country that I shall act solely in their interest and bind myself to undertake no action that may be contrary to the Constitution and law.

I shall keep the dignity of the institution of the President of the Republic, by performing the duty of the President precisely according to the Constitution.

I feel obliged, and it is my civil duty as well, to pay tribute to late Dr Milan Jelić for his commitment and success in performing duties of the President of the Republic. I shall follow his ideas as a strong foundation for my own agenda.

All of this binds me to invest all my knowledge, experience, perseverance and good will in making the Republic of Srpska stronger, better and more prosperous conjointly with you and for the sake of the continuity of the President's office.

To every citizen of the Republic I promise I shall be the President of all fellow citizens and it is to that effect that the door of my office will be open to every one of you to make it possible to hear the voice of the citizen.

I shall strive to perform the honourable and difficult duties of the President of the Republic in a responsible and conscientious manner, advocating for tolerance, dialogue and democratic values.

I shall perform all presidential duties in my already recognizable style – justly, wisely, thoughtfully but persistently in order to be a president who is a fellow citizen, not an autocratic president. For, it was established, long ago, in the philosophy of management that it is not true that the power tends to corrupt. Quite to the contrary: those who are dishonest in their dealings and incompetent for the office they tend to corrupt the power once they seize it.

And this is why I expect that we shall not be recognized by our position of power, but recognised and respected by our professional, pragmatic, efficient and responsible work. Primarily, it means that I shall not divide but unite and represent the Republic of Srpska through creating a political and national unity and thus exercise the fundamental constitutional power vested with the President of the Republic.

And this is why, in the name of the Republic, I shall support and help all citizens so that they may help themselves and the Republic alike to translate good words into good deeds.

I am fully aware of the fact that by taking the office of the President of the Republic of Srpska I also take on a challenging obligation to contribute, in line with my constitutional powers, to the improvement of the wellbeing of all citizens regardless of their ethnic, religious or political affiliation. It means that I shall seek to make the Republic of Srpska a true home for all its peoples – Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats and other citizens.

I shall seek to make the will of the people the supreme law and make the laws passed be an expression of responsibility, clear, specific and enforceable. I shall recommend the legislator – the National Assembly – to pass as many, if not all, just laws and thus affirm a just law and rule of law. By doing so, we shall join those countries that enjoy a high level of democracy and be one of just states of law.

We can achieve significant economic and social rebirth only if we, through our work, moral and intellectual qualities and courage, do everything we possible can to establish the highest political, economic and safety standards and seek to improve our material and social situation, all for the sake of the good, for the sake of a stable, modern and pro-European Republic of Srpska and all of its citizens.

My first thoughts I turn to all those who built their very lives in the creation and defence of the Republic of Srpska fighting for freedom, dignity and historical and national identity of our peoples. My message is that our sacred and human obligation to do much more for the families of fallen soldiers, wounded and disabled for their work and everyday life, as well as for all citizens who were exposed both to material damages and spiritual suffering during the war, who must be compensated in a just and most acceptable manner.

All constitutional bodies and institutions have but one common task: to create and build a state of law and rule of law, to preserve and protect freedoms and rights of all legal and physical entities and their legal and property safety.

By exercising my powers in the spirit of legal order and establishment, I shall contribute to ensuring the continuity and application of objective legal and social rules as enshrined in the Constitution and law. It is in this manner that the very foundations of the constitutional establishment of the Republic of Srpska will be best preserved.

It is necessary to create the conditions that will allow our Constitution to live, its provisions to be implemented rather than devaluated and violated by unconstitutional action or inaction.

I shall dedicate myself to cooperating with the National Assembly and the Council of Peoples, the Government and other bodies and institutions of the Republic of Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina. I shall seek to contribute, to the largest possible extent, to the platform of changes and development which the Government has been engaged in, and which the National Assembly has endorsed and adopted. This does not mean that I shall take over the powers of the legislative and executive authorities, contravene the system of the division of power and turn the Republic into a presidential system, because that would be unconstitutional: neither would I attempt anything like that nor do I have the mandate to do it.

We are all expected to preserve the identity and stability, legacy and values of the Republic of Srpska through work, strong arguments and faith that we are treading the right road, and not to fear for its statehood qualities, continuity and survival.

The Dayton Peace Agreement, as a permanent and comprehensive document of international law, put an end to the tragic conflicts in the region, restored peace, established the model of the government system with two entities and three constituent peoples, and finally, constituted the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent and sovereign, constitutional and state of law. The only possible solution was found, a big compromise made, because this country is and cannot be anything else but a country of compromise. We seek and expect support for that from the open-minded and free democratic world.

Challenging and refusing to accept the solutions offered by the Dayton Agreement, their one-sided and optional understanding, while emphasizing that this Agreement only stopped the war and has already lost its meaning and original function, only lead to further radicalisation of inter-entity and inter-ethnic relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We reject all requests for a radical constitutional and territorial restructuring of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the detriment of any of the entities and peoples, particularly requests to abolish and radically restructure the Republic of Srpska and its fundamental powers.

From the legal point of view, there are no obstacles to the continuation of the constitutional reform, but the initiative for the change of the Constitution must, at the end of the day, be launched by the respective legal and legitimate subjects.

Constitutional changes, particularly those affecting the internal constitutional and legal model of Bosnia and Herzegovina, will be possible only if implemented in phases, as a gradual and harmonised process, on condition there are goals previously set, contents and scope of changes to the current constitutional solutions, a full consensus of its two entities and three equal constituent peoples, and full compliance with the procedure of constitutional changes established by the Constitution.

Any potential change to the Constitution must necessarily be made in a peaceful manner and through joint agreement, in accordance with the domestic and international law.

The commitment of the Republic of Srpska to the democratic establishment and European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is beyond dispute and has already been confirmed. Therefore, all forms of blackmailing, failure to accept and attempts at devaluating the Republic of Srpska, requests for the abolition of its powers and institutions, and the creation of a false image of the good and the bad, the aggressive and the pacifist, the so-called democratic and undemocratic peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina, must be rejected. We advocate the preservation of the culture of peace, legal, political, economic and social safety in the Republic of Srpska as a permanent, legal and legitimate creation, established on the basis of domestic and international law, as well as the state-building entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the same time, the constant quest to identify who, in the past war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the winner and who the defeated is, who the victim and who the criminal is, who the guilty and who the righteous is, must stop. We are committed to establishing the truth, as well as to the condemnation of all crimes, to mutual understanding, forgiveness and trust.

Policy building and its implementation must be within the bodies and institutions of the system, based on democratic principles, transparent and entailing full responsibility. Let us resolve all issues that are common to us in Bosnia and Herzegovina, be it political, economic or social, through agreement, consensus and compromise.

The Republic of Srpska has achieved its overall enviable social, cultural and civilised goal. A considerable growth of the economic activity, with a relatively high growth of the gross domestic product, has been achieved, numerous systemic laws have been endorsed and implemented, structural reforms have been initiated and a significant progress in their implementation has been made.

Although an evident progress in economic and social development, as well as spiritual recovery, has lately been seen in the Republic of Srpska, a large number of our fellow citizens, especially the unemployed, veterans, disabled war veterans and workers, pensioners, refugees and displaced persons, young people and many other, deprived and unjustly impoverished citizens will feel the considerable improvement in the years to come.

Our citizens, who have been awaiting a better life and making sacrifices for years now, our citizens deserve that all those positive changes finally bring, in their everyday lives, an improvement in living conditions.

The development of a civic society in a transitional context implies an even more rapid decrease in the number of those who live on the verge of poverty and human dignity.

That is why the economic development and social policy are our foremost goal and interest. This may only be attained in a stable political situation and with stable relationships. Everything else must serve the purpose of goal. In this respect, it is necessary to adopt a long-term economic development strategy. In addition, an even better, comprehensive, and enforceable social programme, a programme for employment and providing for workers who have been made redundant in the process of privatisation and bankruptcy, is required as well. With this respect, it is necessary to regulate the market, the cooperation of economic organisations and their respective associations, and bodies of the executive and administrative powers.

In order to implement our ideas and plans, we shall work through three sets of priorities in our continuous joint activities:

Firstly, the creation of a favourable political environment for constructive talks with representatives of the international community with a view to expediting the path to European integrations and associations. That is the reason for which I shall demand that the so-called Bonn Powers be abolished as soon as possible. Today, as well, I want to make it clear that the Republic of Srpska is not and shall not be a disturbing, but cohesive and constructive factor. That is why I shall create an internal political climate in order to have balanced views and I shall encourage joint and responsible actions of all, primarily the political parties in the Parliament, regarding the strategic – vital matters of the Republic of Srpska.

Secondly, the creation of a legal environment for a strict implementation of constitutional and legal norms, for the adoption of just and enforceable laws and for a determined fight against corruption and all forms of crime and socially detrimental behaviour.

Thirdly, the creation of economic and social conditions for utilising natural and development potentials, reviving economic facilities, opening public works, encouraging private-public partnership, providing incentives for agricultural production, more rapid employment and stopping the brain drain, greater care for pupils and students, soldiers, invalids and pensioners. It is imperative to particularly advocate for a fair distribution of public revenues, protection of women, family, mothers and children, refugees and displaced persons, as well as all others who have been unjustifiably made destitute. I shall strongly demand the engagement of all system's institutions in the attainment of the listed objectives, in particular, the legislative, executive and judicial powers.

We must make living and working conditions easier for our villagers and farmers, as is being done in all modern countries in the world, so as to enable them, through incentives and reduction of taxes, fees and other duties, to work and make their living.

I would like to highlight that the basic interest of the Republic of Srpska is its sustainable economic development and the utilisation of scientific, technical, natural and, in particular, human resources. Therefore, the need to change and improve the situation in social services - education, science, health, culture and sport - will have a prominent place. Education at all levels must be raised to a higher quality level. Higher education is to be regenerated and we must gain European quality and imbuing it with our spirituality, and by providing financial support to intellectual endeavours. Science as a forceful energy constitutes part of material and spiritual production. Therefore, we must invest more effort, quality and far more resources into science. That is essential since already today, and particularly in the future, overall development will increasingly be relying on science and its application. All our citizens must enjoy good health and social care. Cultural endeavours, sport and talented young people are our inexhaustible source of presentation and good standing in the world. That is why I shall insist on a better financial status, organisation and competence in all these fields.

The Republic of Srpska should become one huge worksite and construction site. There are great tasks ahead: the reviving of production and services, establishment of a number of free economic zones, development of oil industry, agricultural production, hydropower plants, pipelines, highways and motorways, completion of the construction of the university campuses for both universities, construction and adaptation of over a hundred elementary and high school buildings, construction of medical centres, completion of community facilities, renovation of demolished houses, finalisation of the refugee return process, and renovation of the infrastructure in municipalities and cities in the Republic of Srpska.

In exercising my constitutional powers regarding the legislative, executive and judicial powers, I shall strongly influence the change of the situation in which many of our citizens feel humiliated now because of organised crime, white collar crime and corruption, unfair privatisation process and distribution of illegally acquired property, slow resolution of fundamental existential rights and freedoms of citizens.

In order to achieve all of this, we need economic and social stability, healthy market economy, rational and efficient state, democratic environment, moral and human dignity, more rapid and higher production, income, and employment growth rates, strong increase in exports and decrease in imports. All our long-term and short-term development plans are to be adapted to accommodate that, in particular the economic development in the areas in which we have comparative advantages relative to others.

I shall advocate the funds to be increased and clear and implementable criteria for their granting through the Foundation “Dr Milan Jelić“, which finances and stimulates the most talented pupils and students at our universities and abroad, support scientific and research activities and projects of young scientists and researchers and leaders of knowledge, who are going to make gifts of their scientific and professional knowledge and managerial talent and charisma to their people and homeland.

As an envoy of law and justice, I shall strive to contribute to the reform of disability and pension insurance in the Republic of Srpska, to improve legal regulations, increase budget provisions, transform funds, and increase the level of and pay out pensions at the place they were earned at, that is, the place of last insurance contribution payments.

I emphasise the role and responsibility of judicial bodies and the need to ensure they work as efficiently as possible. However, despite their previous efforts, they are still organised insufficiently well, both in terms of human resources and in terms of technical equipment. This is why I insist on consistent implementation of initiated reforms and ensuring the autonomy of judicial system by regulating a new manner of electing judges and public prosecutors.

I shall assist, within the limits of my powers and authorities, all institutions in the process of the so-called internal and external harmonisation of the legislation of the Republic of Srpska with the legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and legal developments and standards of the European Union.

Human rights and local self-governance have become two cornerstones of European countries and societies. This is why it is important to strengthen the constitutional and legislative framework, which would contribute in a better and more efficient manner to the work and development in local communities. Local communities are the foundations of each democratic society. A citizen must directly participate and decide on public affairs.

It is necessary to provide a harmonious and even development of the Republic of Srpska, especially of underdeveloped municipalities, mainly situated in the eastern part of the Republic. That is why we need a confident vision of development, a strategy with long-term and operational goals, establishment of projects in each municipality, greater authority of local communities in property, fiscal and other affairs. That is why I make it known that I shall request that new organisation of local self-governance be built, which the citizens will embrace and develop as their right and duty.

Although the police reform is proceeding in the atmosphere of settling the crisis and under the so-called “Mostar Declaration”, we must speak clearly: one cannot abolish or change the boundaries and competence of entity police forces, which is the guarantee of safety of our citizens, and changes must not obstruct the current judicial and prosecutorial system.

In the system of police structures of Bosnia and Herzegovina the Police and Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Srpska must be preserved, with clearly defined jurisdiction.

I would like to point out that it is necessary to solve the problems of displaced persons and refugees in a much faster and fairer manner, especially of those from the Republic of Croatia, with regard to their status, property and employment rights. Above all, it is necessary to deal with the issues of dispossessed housing rights and exchanged property through bilateral, diplomatic, legal and political means, which cause omnipresent absence of legal safety and fear of losing everything, even by those citizens who have regularly exchanged their property and flats.

The borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatia, that is, the boundaries outlining the territory of the Republic of Srpska along the Una River, must be marked, because the agreement signed has not yet been ratified. To resolve this situation means to continue negotiations with Croatia or demand arbitration.

The issue of transferred functions from the entities to joint bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a special issue. Division of authorities is our internal matter, the matter of the constitutional and legal system. In order to preserve the Dayton spirit and established balance between the state border and entities, further transfer of functions must stop, and there is now need to strongly demand that some of the transferred functions be reverted, particularly those that have not had the expected effect on the improvement of performance of the institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Upon the ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, as well as the fulfilment of additional conditions, we are facing the signing of this Agreement, which will open the door to Euro-Atlantic integrations.

I believe that law and justice will finally prevail in the region, and that we shall join the European integrations and processes without any obstructions with the present constitutional structure. For, changing the constitution is the matter of will of the constituent peoples who themselves need to determine the system of their government, and it cannot be a matter of conditionality on our road to the European Union.

The European integrations remain our common goal. Still, a further process of joining the Euro-Atlantic integrations is related, in addition to other things, to the issue of the role of the OHR and the High Representative and it imposes the need to define exit strategies of the overall engagement of the international community and abolition of the so-called Bonn powers. That will be a turning point in the development of entire relations in this region, which will bring about much more responsibilities in the work of domestic institutions. Domestic bodies, institutions and citizens must finally take their own fate into their own hands.

The distribution of institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina presents another issue that could contribute to balanced importance of all parts of the country. This would provide for equal distribution of seats of institutions, ministries, agencies and bodies not only in Sarajevo as the capital, but also in centres and other towns of constituent parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the post-conflict situation, it is essential to ensure trust, honesty and readiness for cultural dialogue, tolerance and reconciliation among ethnic groups. However, there are appeals for goverments to operate only on the principle of majority, disregarding that the possibility of discrimination and majorisation of the majority over minority could occur, which is not possible in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I shall encourage the establishment of solid and fruitful relations with the neighbouring countries. The special parallel relations of entities with the neighbouring countries, based on reciprocity, enable further improvement of cooperation in the economic, scientific, technical and technological, cultural, educational and other fields, without jeopardizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I shall maintain a genuine dialogue and cooperation with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in addressing numerous issues that will generate better life, financial and legal security for the citizens of both entities.

I also deliver a clear message to the region that the issue of Kosovo is detached from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that it is extremely significant for the international legal and political order. Unilateral recognition of the independence of Kosovo would be crude violation of principles of the international law. Being legalists, we shall not cast our vote for the recognition of independence of Kosovo. It is our opinion that interfering in internal affairs of the autonomous, sovereign and independent country – Serbia, is a matter of infringement of territorial integrity and as such represents a legally void act for us. While supporting the continuation of negotiations, we advocate the stability of the region and affirmation of negotiations and peaceful resolution of all conflicts among countries and peoples.

Lead by the highest standards, accountability, natural and human laws, I once again call upon all of you to jointly engage in accomplishment of our mutual aims and obligations, permanently reflecting on the question – not only what the Republic can do for us, but what we can do for our Republic.

We need the unity and coalition of good ideas with the purpose of accomplishing our obligations and goals, gathering the best and most competent experts in the field of work and life and placing them in service of interest and prosperity of the Republic of Srpska.

I especially address our citizens with the message: it is in your hands, rather than in mine, that the ultimate success or failure of our jointly chosen aim lies. I emphasize this lead by the thought of our great national tribune Petar Kočić: ''He who genuinely and passionately embraces the truth, freedom and homeland shall be free and fearless like God…'' which is a strong message that one definitely conquers all obstacles and achieves goals.

Let us show our loyalty – primarily to the Republic of Srpska, hence to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and even Europe and all who respect and support us.

To end with, I would like to congratulate to all people of faith who are celebrating these days, wishing them to spend their holidays in peace, joy and good health. And my general message to all citizens is that we need to remember the utmost ethnical, religious and cultural tolerance and solidarity among people as the basic condition for good, enjoyable and safe life in the Republic of Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Thank you all for your trust and support.

I wish us all the best of luck!

Rajko Kuzmanović