KOVAČEVIĆ: ISTOČNO SARAJEVO PROUD OF ITS ROLE IN THE CREATION OF SRPSKA, AND SEES BANJALUKA AS ITS CAPITAL

SARAJEVO, JULY 15 /SRNA/ - Serb member of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Radovan Kovačević said that attempts to create divisions between Banja Luka and Istočno Sarajevo are unacceptable, stressing that the people of Istočno Sarajevo see Banja Luka as their capital and that they are proud both of the institutions of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka and of their city's role in its creation.

Addressing MP Nenad Vuković, who had engaged in a debate about relations between Istočno Sarajevo and Banja Luka and the alleged division between the two cities during a discussion on the Bill on the Court of BiH, Kovačević emphasized that it is shameful to try to create any negative feelings among the residents of Istočno Sarajevo towards Banjaluka.

"Colleague Vuković, you should be ashamed for trying to create divisions between Pale and Banjaluka and for attempting to stir up any negative feelings among the residents of Istočno Sarajevo towards Banjaluka. I regularly visit Pale, at least once a month. I am constantly in the city of Istočno Sarajevo. The people of Istočno Sarajevo love Banjaluka as their capital. They do not have any feeling that something has been taken away from them," Kovačević emphasized.

He stated that the residents of Istočno Sarajevo are proud of the institutions of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka – the Palace of the Republic, the Government and the National Assembly – as well as of Istočno Sarajevo's role in the creation of Republika Srpska, and that they demand this be recognized.

"Istočno Sarajevo is mine, just as Banjaluka is mine. And you certainly will not succeed in that," Kovačević said.