topic: | Freedom of Expression |
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located: | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia |
editor: | Katarina Panić |
Republika Srpska, the autonomous region in Bosnia and Herzegovina, adopted a law favouring the Cyrillic script over the Latin two months ago. It was a part of the trend in the Serb-dominated half of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in Serbia under the ruling nationalists, to bolster the national identity. However, on 23 November, the Republika Srpska Constitutional Court found that the new law violated the vital national interests of the Croats and Bosniaks.
Namely, the law imposes the obligatory use of the Cyrillic alphabet in the logo and name for all events financed or co-financed by public funds and applies penalties if the opposite is done. On the other hand, the constitutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina guarantee national equality and protection of the vital interests of all three constituent nations – Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats - including the equal usage of the three languages and two alphabets.
The Constitutional Court explained its decision, stating that "Considering that Croats and Bosniaks do not relate their national identity to the Cyrillic alphabet, and as such prescribing deprives them of freedom in choosing the way of expressing this identity, the legislator acted contrary to the obligation to [...] provide guarantees for the preservation of the national identity of members of all constituent peoples.”
In the other half of the country, which is composed primarily of Croat and Boskiak communities, the same issue occurs to Serbs regarding their rights to language and Cyrillic, among other markers of national identity.
Neighbouring Serbia adopted a law two months ago obligating public companies to use Cyrillic in their public communication and even offering tax breaks to private firms for doing so. Still, battles over the national language and scripts are not a new phenomenon and are not exclusive to the Western Balkans.
"I'm happy to have both scripts. Not many languages in the world work in two alphabets simultaneously, do they?” a Serbian language teacher told FairPlanet. “And, yes, I am firmly against favouring any. It is a treasure to have both and politicians must be aware of this, too."
It appears that nationalists create a vicious circle under a drive to protect and preserve one script over the other. It also appears that authorities insist on reciprocity in violation rather than in respect for rights.
Photo by Anton Maksimov juvnsky