Nezavisne novine: Citizens of BiH could this year get the days which they will celebrate all together if the Council of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH adopt the Proposal Law which has been sent to them by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH.
Damir Dizdarević, Deputy Minister of Civil Affairs of BiH, has confirmed that the Proposal Law on Holidays has been sent to the Council of Ministers and it has been expected that after that it will be found on the procedure of the Parliamentary Assembly. Dizdarević has said that the holidays which were not problematic to any entity, the New Year, the 1st of May – the International Work Holiday, the 9th of May – the Fight against Fascism Day and the Europe Day, by adding that some other dates have been proposed, but it will be seen later if they will pass all needed instances.
"Neither date is not really directly connected with BiH and its sovereignty", Dizdarević has said by adding that bringing this law is a matter of political will, and it is expectable that there will be some changes in relation to the Proposal which has been delivered to the Council of Ministers. He has said that before submitting of the Proposal, the representatives of the authorized ministries from the FBiH and the RS have been meeting more times in order to agree on the dates, and that the entity ministers participated in these debates when it was needed. Perica Jelečević, Minister of Work and Social Policy of the FBiH, has said that it has been suggested that besides the international holidays, Eid and orthodox and catholic Christmas should also be celebrated at the level of BiH. He has said that there is a consensus to accept those dates, but not some historical dates from the past of BiH.
In the Ministry of Local Governance and Self Governance of the RS they say that bringing the law on the level of BiH will not mean that the entity holidays are being abolished, because it is up to them to determine which days they will celebrate. According to the current Law of the RS, as republic holidays in the RS, they celebrate: the New Year, the Republic Day, the International Work Day, the Day of Victory over Fascism and the Day of Establishing the General Framework Peace Agreement in BiH.
Following holidays are celebrated as religious: the orthodox and catholic Christmas, the Kurban-Eid, the catholic and orthodox Big Friday, the catholic and orthodox Easter, and the Ramadan-Eid. Religious holidays are being celebrated two days, first and second day of holiday, while the orthodox and catholic Christmas is being celebrated on the Yule-log and the day of Christmas. The republic holidays are related to all citizens of the RS, while the religious holidays celebrate citizens of the religion which the holiday relates to.
In the FBiH, besides the New Year and the 1st of May, celebrated are also 25th of November–the Sovereignty Day and the 1st of March–the Independence Day, while the religious citizens get days off for two Eids and for the orthodox and catholic Christmas and Easter.