The member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović, said that Serbia is obliged to respect the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The Constitution of BiH, which is an integral part of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, states that: Entities have the right to establish parallel relations with neighboring countries, in accordance with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Article III-2 (a ). It clearly follows from the cited constitutional provision that parallel relations must be in accordance with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The entity of Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina is obliged to consistently respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, just like neighboring Serbia,” he said. is Bećirović.
He reminded that the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina was signed by the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (the legal successor of Serbia) and the Republic of Croatia.
“These three states have pledged to fully respect each other’s sovereign equality, as sovereign and independent states. It is time for the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, to stop avoiding the word sovereignty and start concretely respecting the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Bećirović and added :
“The content of the relations of the entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina with neighboring countries can only be derived from the competences that the entities have. Therefore, those agreements cannot and must not encroach on the competence of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the competence of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in addition to those that are exhaustively listed in the Constitution BiH, includes additional competences that are in accordance with annexes 5-8, as well as competences that are necessary to preserve the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and international subjectivity of the state (Article III.5). have all sovereign states and which are necessary for the implementation of fifteen conventions and international agreements listed in Annex I of the Constitution of BiH.”
As he said, the parallel relations of the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska should be understood as a complement to the normal interstate relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and not as a substitute for them or, even worse, as an opportunity for their abuse.
“Only what remains unregulated in the interstate relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina RS, and with the prior consent of the highest legislative body of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, can be regulated by establishing parallel relations. The established parallel relations must not call into question the Constitution Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is important to emphasize that agreements on parallel relations between the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighboring country cannot be signed by representatives of the people, but by the competent authorities of the entity according to the procedure regulated by the Constitution. It should also be borne in mind that the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina entities are not mono-ethnic, but multi-ethnic, regardless of what they are called,” said Bećirović.
He said that the preservation and affirmation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the functioning of the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the best protection of citizens and nations.
“The Dayton Peace Agreement does not only consist of rights, but also obligations to implement it as a whole, and not only those points of this agreement that suit someone. It is time to start acting responsibly in the interest of building a safer future for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and developing good-neighborly relations between these two countries, based on international law,” said Bećirović, the cabinet of the BiH Presidency member said.
