Republika Srpska

The Republika Srpska (????????? ??????, RS) is one of the two political entities that compose the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the other entity is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Republic of Srpska comprises 49% of the land area of Bosnia, but only about 40% of the population. All data dealing with population, including ethnic distributions, are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and population transfers. UNHCR population census conducted throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina in the spring of 1996 (shortly after the end of the war) indicated that the Serbs were 96.8% of the overall population of the entity at that point in time.

Politics

The Republika Srpska has its own government, coat of arms, flag, anthem, court system, president, parliament, (the ??????? ????????? ????????? ??????/Narodna Skup?tina Republike Srpske), customs department (as part of the state-level customs department of Bosnia-Herzegovina), postal system, and airline (Air Srpska).

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After the war, Republika Srpska retained its army, but in August 2005, under considerable foreign pressure (acting primarily through the Office of the High Representative), the parliament consented to transfer control of Army of Republika Srpska to an state-level ministry and abolish the entity defense ministry. These reforms were insisted upon by NATO as a condition of Bosnia and Hercegovina's admission to the Partnership for Peace.

Related Topics:
Army of Republika Srpska - NATO - Partnership for Peace

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Republika Srpska has its own police force, but in October 2005, again under foreign pressure, the parliament consented to the creation over a five-year period of a single integrated police service at the state level, with local police areas that may cross the Inter-Entity Boundary Line in limited areas. These reforms were insisted upon by the European Union as a condition for the negotiation of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Bosnia and Hercegovina.

Related Topics:
European Union - Stabilisation and Association Agreement

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Republika Srpska uses the convertible mark currency along with the rest of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It uses the Serbian tricolour as its flag. Although the constitution names Sarajevo as the capital of Republika Srpska , the northwestern city of Banja Luka is the headquarters of most of the institutions of government — including the parliament — and the de facto capital.

Related Topics:
Convertible mark - Serbian tricolour - Sarajevo - Banja Luka

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