The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, announced that he had declared two members of the diplomatic staff of the Serbian Embassy in Sarajevo undesirable, who were given 48 hours to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that BiH was withdrawing its consent to the declaration on good neighborly relations and regional cooperation, which was supposed to be signed on October 1 in Montenegro.
At an extraordinary press conference, Konaković said that, in accordance with the Ordinance on declaring undesirable and inadmissible persons, he made a decision to declare Milan Dulanović, the military attaché at the Embassy of Serbia, and Darko Maksimović, the adviser to the BIA representative, as undesirable.
“These two people have 48 hours to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Konaković, adding that their diplomatic cards will be cancelled.
He called on the diplomatic corps in Bosnia and Herzegovina to stop diplomatic communication with Dulanović and Maksimović.
Speaking about the reasons for the decision, Konaković cited the relations of Serbian officials towards the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić after his death and burial in Belgrade, emphasizing that it was, as he said, crossing all red lines.
Mladić, a former commander of the Republika Srpska Army, died on August 27 while serving a life sentence imposed by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts for war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His body was then transferred to Belgrade, where a commemoration and funeral were held.
Konaković pointed out that Bosnia and Herzegovina will not allow the glorification of those legally convicted of genocide and other international crimes to be presented as the attitude of individuals.
“Nothing is more important. No process, neither economic, nor economic, nor social, nor administrative, is more important than what Serbia is currently doing in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Konaković said.
The minister also announced that BiH has withdrawn its consent to the joint declaration on good neighborly relations and regional cooperation, which was supposed to be signed on October 1 in Montenegro.
He said that BiH will not sign such a document until, as he stated, the situation in Serbia changes.
“We will not sign such declarations, empty papers, while we have the Serbia we are looking at these days, the Serbia of the nineties, which really warns us that things are not normal,” Konaković said.
He added that Montenegro was informed of the withdrawal of consent, stressing that BiH does not have a problem with the document itself, but with the current relations and actions of Serbia.
Konaković also announced a review of the systematization of the Embassy of Serbia in Sarajevo, i.e. the number of diplomatic staff needed for its functioning.
He also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina will consider changing consular jurisdiction, as well as gradually reducing the number of employees at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Belgrade, while respecting domestic procedures.
“Until normal politicians appear ready for compromise and agreement, we don’t have to agree on everything in history, but you will never insult and humiliate us again,” said Konaković.
Speaking about the reactions of the European Union to the glorification of Mladić, Konaković assessed that their subsequently corrected statement was still insufficiently clear and announced that he would send a letter to the EU institutions with questions about their attitude towards the public and institutional glorification of persons legally convicted of genocide and other international crimes.
Konaković also said that Bosnia and Herzegovina will try to hold the elections at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Serbia, but added that he is ready to accept the consequences if this is not possible due to new circumstances, AA writes.
