These days, the influx of migrants from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has increased, with calls for an agreement on readmission. Are the Croatian authorities returning to Bihac those who entered Croatia from Serbia and Montenegro? The fear of the citizens of Bihac is increasing.
After several months of a peaceful situation and trends that indicated a calming of the situation on the Balkan route, new warnings are coming from the Una-Sana Canton (USC). Due to the increased influx of migrants, which Croatia returns to BiH on the basis of the Readmission Agreement with BiH, over 500 migrants were returned to this canton in just a few days.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Elmedin Konakovic, was the first to investigate the warning, who, after his stay in the Lipa migrant camp near Bihac, was convinced, as he says, that there are no problems, as they once were.
Custody, prison, detention center
“We are telling all the citizens of the canton that we will stand with all the institutions of the government and the city of Bihac and all other municipalities,” said Konakovic, assuring that the scenario with the migrant crisis from three years ago will not be repeated.
However, Brussels did not wait, so a security clause was triggered just in case – by building another department in the Lipa camp, which should serve as a temporary detention with a duration of up to 72 hours.
The European Union (EU) Delegation in BiH announced that the facility, with a capacity of 12 people, will ensure high standards for those who should be held there for up to 72 hours.
Some things are known, and some are not
“I know that all this is done on the basis of European aid and that it was approved by the previous Council of Ministers. Since I have been at the head of it, we have not given any approval for the construction of that center,” says BiH Minister of Security Nenad Nesic, reminding that BiH and Croatia have signed international agreements that must be respected.
While Nesic claims that each of the 12 detention units in the Lipa camp is empty, the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICPMD) confirmed to the media in BiH that they have their “contribution in the construction of facilities for temporary detention”.
Brussels secured the money half a year ago
European Commissioner for EU Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi. during his visit to BiH in November last year, presented four points of assistance before BiH was granted candidate status. The last point referred to Lipa and detention centers, which were not “in the game” at that time.
“Finally – today I am announcing another pilot project of 500 thousand euros for the Lipa camp. We must keep our detention facilities in Lipa and the region under control, which means that false asylum seekers must be detained until they return to their countries of origin,” Varhelyi said at the time, which many understood as just another regular help for the Lipa camp.
The authorities of the USC say that they will not allow this canton to become a parking lot for migrants again and that thousands of such people reside in this area. Control over this issue could be established if readmission agreements were applied with other countries in the region, such as Serbia, but as it looks now, this is the case only with Croatia and BiH, DW reports.
E.Dz.
