Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šemsudin Mehmedović, stated at a press conference that the undermining and weakening of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina continues.
He added that the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the best example of inactivity, noting that the House of Representatives held its last session on March 16, and the next is scheduled for April 29, although the Rules of Procedure prescribe holding two sessions per month.
Mehmedović emphasized that a 43-day gap between two sessions is unacceptable and contrary to the Rules of Procedure.
“I point out once again that Nikola Špirić and Dragan Čović have been blocking the work of the House of Peoples for a year and a half by carrying out classic anti-Dayton activities, without any reaction from the High Representative. The most recent example is the absence yesterday of the HDS and SNSD delegates at the session,” Mehmedović said.
According to his statement, High Representative Christian Schmidt also joined the blockades, “with his inarticulate language suggesting that the state issue should be resolved in Parliament, while knowing it is impossible to reach a political agreement with those who have been usurping state property for personal and party enrichment. The BHRT financial issue should be resolved by the institutions, the same ones who put this service in a difficult situation. Is that a principled stand?”
Mehmedović added, “While the public’s attention is directed to trivial matters, the foundations of the country, which we have been building since the signing of the Dayton Agreement, are being undermined.
“At last week’s session of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the agenda included amendments to the Rules of Procedure on the internal organization of 27 state institutions, not to improve their work, but only to secure positions for hundreds of party members before the elections,” Mehmedović said.
He stated that “more important than the issue of employing party loyalists is the open move toward stripping the state of its powers and dividing state institutions.”
Minister Edin Forto, during the current mandate, agreed to abolish the original competencies of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, he decided that the construction of the interstate bridge with Montenegro at Šćepan Polje, which was funded by the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, would be implemented and monitored by the relevant ministry in Republika Srpska. The state provides the funding for the project, yet an entity-level ministry spends it, which is unprecedented in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mehmedović said.
He stated that for over a year, SNSD and HDZ have been blocking the adoption of the amendment to the Rulebook on Systematization of the Central Election Commission, which, after the High Representative imposed changes to the Election Law, received a number of new competencies and the complex task of introducing scanners into the electoral process.
“Instead of prioritizing the Central Election Commission, the Troika ministers consider it more important to fulfill the demands of their strategic partners, SNSD and HDZ, through yet another ‘compromise’ on the European path. Additionally, SNSD is blocking the adoption of the Rulebook on Systematization of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This would significantly strengthen the staffing of this vital institution, whose mandate is to protect the interests of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Mehmedović stated.
According to him, it is also concerning that “the Bosniak ministers in the current session of the Council of Ministers have allowed HDZ and SNSD to fully take over hiring and staffing policies in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also allowed the illegal and unfair spending of funds from the ITA Single Account of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
“Finally, I will emphasize a devastating fact that is hidden from the public: the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina decided, in the electoral year, to distribute five million BAM each to RTV Herceg-Bosna and Federal Television, while at the same time BHRT was given only one million BAM,” Mehmedović said.
He stated that it is clear to everyone “that HDZ and SNSD have trapped the country and state institutions.”
“It is of strategic importance for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina to free itself from the joint administrative enterprise of HDZ and SNSD. Politicians who, by protecting their positions and seats, sell the interests of the country and people are also responsible for this situation. They want to numb the public to the fact that Bosniaks have been ‘cleared out’ from the institutions, while HDZ and SNSD control processes and appointments,” Mehmedović said.
