Republika Srpska Celebrate Statehood Holiday

Bosnian Serbs celebrated a statehood holiday Tuesday in stubborn defiance of the West and their non-Serb compatriots, but with tacit backing from Russia.

A handful of international guests attended the celebration in Banja Luka, the largest city in the Serb-run part of Bosnia, Republika Srpska. They included Serbia's interior and defense ministers, as well as Anatoly Bibilov, president of South Ossetia.

The guests flanked Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik at a podium to watch a parade by police officers armed with automatic weapons, Bosnian War veterans, and members of sport clubs and rescue services. Closing the procession were Serb members of the Night Wolves, a Russian motorcycle club that staunchly supports President Vladimir Putin.

The January 9 holiday commemorates the date in 1992 when Bosnian Serbs declared the creation of an exclusively Serb state in multi...