Nobel laureate Peter Handke in Banja Luka: "I am happy to be here"

Peter Handke, Zeljka Cvijanovic; Photo: ATA Images

Nobel laureate Peter Handke said today in Banja Luka that he decided to travel to the RS despite the "strong winds" that were against it.

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"I am happy to be here. This is a great moment for me," Handke told reporters after a meeting with top RS officials.

He stressed that his impressions are best described by the verses - "the Lajkovac railroad is long..." - from a famous song by legendary Serbian folk singer Predrag Zivkovic Tozovac, who recently passed away.

Handke also said that he had visited the house where another Nobel Prize winner, Ivo Andric, grew up 20 years ago, Banja Luka media reported.

Along with the Serb member and chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Milorad Dodik and filmmaker Emir Kusturica, Handke visited a memorial dedicated to Andric that was recently built in Banja Luka.

They will also tour Andricgrad together.

Otherwise, President of the Serb Republic (Republika Srpska, RS) Zeljka Cvijanovic on Friday in Banja Luka presented the Order of the Serb Republic on a sash to Peter Handke.

Handke received this order for exceptional merits in the field of cultural and spiritual development, as well as for his special contribution to the development and strengthening of overall relations with the RS.

(Telegraf.rs)