\u2013 These are good Belgradians, who have made a great contribution to the development of our city. Given that Belgrade is the capital of all Serbs, it is very important that our people organize themselves and nurture ties from the areas of their origin \u2013 he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, that will provide an additional contribution to the special ties nurtured by Serbia and Republic of Srpska, based on the Dayton Agreement.<\/p>\n
\u2013 If we do not take care of each other, others will not take care of us \u2013 he said.<\/p>\n
The president of the newly founded association, Vinko Pandurevi\u0107, said that one of the goals of Romanija was to achieve best possible cooperation with the city and municipal authorities of Belgrade, as well as with the leadership of municipalities in the homeland, and stressed that the association would be open to all.<\/p>\n
\u2013 We will model our work on the libertarian spirit and entrepreneurship of our homeland ancestors, who, above all, valued freedom and justice and their people of both the old and new times, as well as the libertarian spirit of the Serbian people as a whole \u2013 said Pandurevi\u0107.<\/p>\n
He noted that for many decades, people from the Sarajevo-Romanija region had lived in Serbia, tied their destiny with Serbia and made significant contribution to the development of society, but also maintained ties with their homeland.<\/p>\n
\u2013 The second and third generation born in Serbia has its homeland and place of birth which is far from the homeland of their parents and grandparents. That is why we have gathered here to do everything to establish a strong thread of connection of all generations living in Serbia with the Sarajevo-Romanija region and the homeland of our fathers \u2013 he said.<\/p>\n
The head of the Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Serbia, Mla\u0111en Cicovi\u0107, extended his congratulations on the founding of the association, which, as he said, offered another space for the Representation to work very successfully on encouraging and strengthening ties between Srpska and Serbia and give full contribution to preserving the national identity.<\/p>\n
He noted that the association would be supported in implementing all program activities, and above all in maintaining the connection with the homeland, promoting their homeland in an environment where they had permanently decided to live and contribute to the development of Serbia.<\/p>\n
The mayor of Isto\u010dno Sarajevo, Ljubi\u0161a \u0106osi\u0107, expressed his belief that the association would achieve its goals, and noted that the circumstances had made Romanijans leave the area en masse, causing a large number of them to live in Belgrade today.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that, according to the 1991 census, 156,000 Serbs were living in Sarajevo which was the second most Serb-populated city after Belgrade.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Today, Isto\u010dno Sarajevo with its 65,000 inhabitants, as the only city consisting of municipalities, is a bulwark of the Republic of Srpska. We are not asking for help, we have come to tell you that we feel you as our citizens. You are welcome there, whether coming to visit your homeland for a while or on some other occasion. We are stronger together \u2013 he said.<\/p>\n
He stressed the desire for Isto\u010dno Sarajevo and the Republic of Srpska to grow and achieve cooperation with all people from that area.<\/p>\n
The mayor of Sokolac, Milovan Bjelica, said that citizens of that part of the Republic of Srpska were particularly attached to Serbia \u2018because if it were not for Serbia, they would have been treated as a rebel tribe.\u2019<\/p>\n
He pointed out that he was looking forward to every kind of cooperation, and that he expected new projects from tomorrow\u2019s session of the Government of Serbia and Government of the Republic of Srpska, and added that Sokolac had projects and a development strategy and needed support.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s founding assembly of the association Romanija in Belgrade was also attended by the heads of the municipalities of Rogatica - Milorad Jagodi\u0107, Han Pjesak - Slobodan \u0110uri\u0107, Pale - Bo\u0161ko Jugovi\u0107, a member of the Serbian National Assembly, Svetozar Andri\u0107, and many others.<\/p>\n
The Association of Romanijans in Belgrade existed before, but it has been inactive for years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n