
(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 9 - Celebrations for Republika Srpska (RS), Bosnia and Herzegovina's entity with a Serb majority, began yesterday evening for its National Day, which falls today. The anniversary is observed and celebrated with great emphasis and nationalistic spirit, despite the fact that the Bosnian High Court has repeatedly declared it unconstitutional, and the High International Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, has stigmatised the holiday. In fact, the judges believe that this anniversary discriminates against non-Serb citizens of Republika Srpska, including Muslim Bosniaks, Catholic Croats, and members of other minorities. Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb leader and president of the RS, did not attend the celebrations because he is still recovering from a complex surgery on his stomach and oesophagus performed in Belgrade on December 9. (ANSA).