Sarajevo police will increase its presence on the territory of Sarajevo Canton on January 9, cantonal Ministry of Interior said after veteran associations announced they would set up checkpoints on the inter-entity boundary line towards Bosnia's Serb-majority entity Republika Srpska, which will hold central ceremony of the unconstitutional holiday of the Day of Republika Srpska in the neighbouring city of Istocno Sarajevo.

“We use the opportunity to call on the representatives and members of certain associations and organisations to align all their possibly planned activities with legal regulations and not to contribute to creating of the atmosphere of fear and insecurity among citizens and visitors with their public appearances,” the ministry said after its Police Administration received the requests for setting up the checkpoints on the streets linking the city of Sarajevo with the city of Istocno Sarajevo.

The police also called on citizens and visitors of Sarajevo Canton to cooperate, to report any sort of anti-legal activity they may notice and to refrain from any reaction to possible provocations.
Former members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, gathered around the ‘Green Berets’ association, announced the “peaceful protests” alongside the inter-entity boundary line, demanding from police to stop the traffic on those streets between the cities of Sarajevo and Istocno Sarajevo.

They said they “legally” submitted their request to the police, explaining that the protest is aimed against the “provocation of the Serb separatists on January 9.”

The main celebration of the Day of Republika Srpska, which Bosnia's Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional as it takes place on a religious Orthodox feast and thus discriminates other minorities in that part of the country, has been moved from the entity's administrative centre Banja Luka for the first time.

Drasko Stanivukovic, Banja Luka mayor, said he was happy that other cities of Republika Srpska will have a chance to see the celebration and that this will “become a practice in the whole Republika Srpska.”

However, the city will also join the celebration and organise the ‘Walk of Honour’ on this occasion with members of the veteran association, and will welcome the leader of the Serb Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije.

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Meanwhile, the City of Istocno Sarajevo is conducting final rehearsals for the ceremony.

Multi-functional armoured vehicles Despot, which were presented four years ago during the same celebration in Banja Luka, have already arrived in Istocno Sarajevo along with the members of the special police units of Republika Srpska, who will take place in the parade planned for January 9.