The Federal Minister of Internal Affairs, Ramo Isak, responded to the incident involving the tearing down of the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which had been placed at the Kosuta peak on Jahorina, within the territory of the Federation of BiH (FBiH), specifically the Canton Sarajevo (CS).
“Nedeljko Elek, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Jahorina Ski Center, better known to the public as a loyal servant of Milorad Dodik, is once again misleading the public. This time, he falsely claims that a member of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs was arrested in the BiH entity Republika Srpska (RS) for raising the flag of BiH.
I inform the public that no arrest has been made, nor will there be any. The police officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS will not and cannot arrest members of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs. The autocratic regime and police repression in the RS entity may be imposed on SNSD voters and the distressed population of the smaller BiH entity, but not on members of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs. We will proudly display the flag of the state of BiH in the FBiH, in RS, in the Brcko District of BiH, and on the international level. BiH is a state, and we take pride in it.
The truth is that police officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS issued a misdemeanor notice to a police officer from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of CS. I urge the Ministry of Internal Affairs of CS to take all measures within its jurisdiction to challenge the misdemeanor notice issued to their police officer. They will have the support of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs in any actions they take regarding the conduct of RS police officers.
The tearing down of the flag of the state of BiH, which was placed at the Kosuta peak on Jahorina, is shameful and unacceptable. I call on the judiciary to urgently investigate this incident, as it clearly exhibits elements of a criminal offense. Increasing tensions, spreading national intolerance, and creating division among the peoples of BiH is not the path we should follow,” stated Minister Isak in his response.
