The first volume of the Collection of Documents on the Creation of Republika Srpska has been published, as part of a larger project that will be carried out in the upcoming period, and the goal of the project is to present historical documents and the truth about the formation of Srpska, said Draga Mastilović, the director of the Institute of Historical Sciences at the University of East Sarajevo.
Mastilović has said that this is one of the most significant projects the Institute plans to undertake soon, alongside another major project that will be published in volumes, focusing on documents about the genocide against Serbs in BiH from 1941 to 1945.
“We are proud of this first collection of documents on the creation of Republika Srpska, which was prepared by our young colleague and collaborator from the Institute of Historical Sciences at the University of East Sarajevo Georgije Vulić,” Mastilović told reporters.
The author of the Collection Georgije Vulić emphasized that this publication is part of a broader edition called Materials for the History of Republika Srpska, and emphasized that it is an important project, especially in light of the fierce attacks on Srpska that we are witnessing.
“Precisely because of this, such projects based on scientific foundations can provide the public with a picture of the importance of Republika Srpska, its existence, and the existence of its institutions,” Vulić pointed out.
He has said that the collection is titled “Documents on the Creation of Republika Srpska”.
“Exactly 33 years after the formation of Republika Srpska, when its first Constitution was adopted, we have the opportunity to see in this collection of documents the Constitution and other significant documents, as well as transcripts from sessions during which Republika Srpska was created,” said Vulić.
Vulić emphasized that this is the first collection of documents about the creation of Republika Srpska and that it reflects the importance of the Institute of Historical Sciences at the University of East Sarajevo, which, as a young institution, has already published numerous editions.
“This is a small, initial step in efforts to do something more significant regarding the history of Republika Srpska, and to ensure that historiographical production on these and similar topics will be much greater,” Vulić said.
He expressed hope that the wider public would soon become familiar with this collection of documents and that, based on it, a broader awareness would be created about the conditions in which Republika Srpska was formed and the pressures that existed at that time.
“Later, in the upcoming volumes, we hope to be able to present what the defense of Republika Srpska looked like,” Vulić emphasized.
According to him, the goal is to present events related to the Defense Patriotic War, but the problem lies in the fact that the material for the history of Republika Srpska is mostly located in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia /ICTY/, which prosecuted nearly all prominent members of both the Republika Srpska Army and Republika Srpska’s political leadership.
“Today, the ICTY has a large online database of documents that we can use to gain insights, and unfortunately, we have to refer to that UN court. It would have been better if, in the case of the history of Republika Srpska, the natural process of obtaining documents was as it is with other historical periods, but the situation is what it is, and we must use what we have and not let that stop us from publishing works such as this collection of documents or similar things,” Vulić stated.
He said that the plan is for the next volumes to focus on the wartime period of Republika Srpska and its political and military history.
Source: srna.rs
