SERBS BOUND BY SAME IDENTITY, CULTURE AND HISTORY ON BOTH SIDES OF DRINA

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 22 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska and Serbia are closely bound by Serbian identity, culture and history, President of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska Nenad Stevandić and Serbian Culture Minister Nikola Selaković said today in Banja Luka.

The interlocutors stressed that the Serb people on both sides of the Drina river belong to the same culture, speak the same language and use the Serbian Cyrillic script.

Stevandić thanked Selaković for the gift, the painting "The First Serbian Uprising, 1804," which was created for the exhibition "The Struggle for Serbian Statehood and Freedom of the Serbian People," held as part of the marking of the 220th anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising.

"Selaković is a friend who frequently visits Republika Srpska and contributes to its promotion in his own way. This beautiful work, the painting he presented to the National Assembly, is the result of many years of cooperation and mutual respect," Stevandić said at a news conference.

Selaković said that the oil painting is the work of Belgrade academic painter Nebojša Đuranović and depicts one of the most important dates in Serbian history.

"While respecting what constitutes the territorial integrity of BiH, with the Serb people as a constituent people and Republika Srpska as one of its two equal entities, Serbia cannot, nor will it, turn its head away from or belittle something that no political system has been able to abolish, eliminate or reshape - the cultural and national identity of members of the Serb people west of the Drina River," Selaković said.

He added that the Serb people in both Srpska and Serbia cherish the same glorious past, literature and art.

"Serbian can be spoken in Serbia and Srpska, just as German is spoken in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We see nothing wrong with preserving, nurturing and building upon our national and cultural identity at a time when an era of struggles over identities is emerging," Selaković said.

The news conference also highlighted that the shared cultural and national identity is promoted through the "Days of Srpska in Serbia" and "Days of Serbia in Srpska" events.