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If you'll stop for a moment and have an honest discussion about the principles involved here, you'll come to either one of two conclusions. Either the Serb Republic's secession from Bosnia was unjustified because it was done without the consent of its parent entity - and therefore so was Bosnia's secession from Yugoslavia. Or, both the RS and Bosnia were justified in exercising their basic right to self-determination. You can not hold one position in one case, and a different in position in the other. Well I suppose you can, but not if you're going to retain any intellectual honesty.

Various authors have stated that the Yugoslav Constitution did have a provision to allow for a republic's seccesion based on unanimous agreement amongst all the republic's. Perhaps its "abusrd length" and being "virtually untranslatable" (not to mention the fact that it has already been replaced, what two times?) is why no one has bothered to post the actual text of it online (at least not that I have been able to find). I have taken them at their word. Perhaps they were right, perhaps not, but it is really irrelevant at this point.

Condemn both if you like, or support both. But don't praise one and condemn the other, and still call yourself an honest man.

Bob,

Please don't presume to lecture me on intellectual honesty:

The SDS conducted, in November of 1991, a plebiscite which was restricted to their own membership, i.e., Bosnian Serbs, as to whether they wanted to stay as a part of Yugoslavia.

Based upon the results of this referendum, Karadzic et al declared that those areas wherein more than 50% of the vote was in favor of staying with Yugoslavia were now part of the Autonomous Serb Republic of Bosnia.

On the other hand, the Bosnian government conducted, in March of 1992, a referendum which was open to all, (the SDS boycotted, surprise surprise) which posed the question:

Are you for a sovereign and independent Bosnia and Hercegovina, a state of equal citizens, the peoples of Bosnia and Hercegovina -- Muslims, Serbs, Croats, and members of other nations -- living in it?

Results showed that of the ~3.15 million eligible voters in Bosnia (this includes the boycotting SDS membership) 63% supported independence. When you count only votes cast, 99.7% supported the referendum.

So on one hand, you have an exclusionary vote that the Bosnian Serbs "won", vs. a Republic wide, all inclusive vote which the Bosnian Serbs chose to boycott as they knew the JNA would be able to settle the forthcoming dispute in their favor.

You are attempting to compare apples and oranges, Bob, and that's not intellectually honest, is it.

THE REFERENDUM ON INDEPENDENCE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
February 29-March 1, 1992