Why did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH call on the Participants in the War not to travel to Serbia?

The third day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina invited BH citizens who took part in the war not to travel to Serbia, it is not clear why such an invitation followed and on what exactly it is based. The ambiguity is greater after the information that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of BiH and Serbia are in daily contact.

What are they talking about, if they do not intend to strengthen relations and protect the rights of all citizens?

The cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Bisera Turkovic, briefly says that the invitation to the participants in the war not to travel in Serbia is a common practice and procedure, which is a warning and recommendation to the citizens, and not an order.

Josip Brkic, Deputy Minister, emphasizes that there was no discussion on this issue. “The expert board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not discuss it. I asked the departmental assistant for international legal and consular affairs, he didn’t know how to tell me much and I am referring you to the minister’s office to look for an answer, and it is clear to you in which direction it is going, “Brkic points out.

The Ministry of Justice explains that the law which enables Serbia to search for and prosecute war crimes suspects in the entire territory of the former Yugoslavia, further complicates the political environment. Not only the declarative intention of Serbia is enough, but also respecting the agreement, like the one from 2013 between the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and Serbia, which obliges them to inform each other about the ongoing processes, says Deputy Minister of Justice Nezir Pivic.

“The protection mechanism is impossible if someone on the other side does not respect any rules and principles. If someone does not play by the rules and international standards, then how can you fight the right way in a certain situation. As for the Ministry of Justice, within the framework of international legal assistance, the Ministry only forwards the requests of the judiciary “, says Pivic.

Authorities in Serbia say the only solution is talks. The country’s foreign minister says he does not want to believe that someone was willing to jeopardize BiH-Serbia relations by abusing Edin Vranj’s case. He confirmed that talks are being held with the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but did not disclose details.

“Certainly, our communication with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH exists, but even in this example you can see some differences that exist at the very top of BiH. You have heard one statement from two members of the Presidency, another from a third member, it is all too complicated, and I do not want to believe, as I said, that someone is ready to abuse something, fabricate and create tensions “, emphasizes the Minister of Foreign Affairs Of Serbia Nikola Selakovic.

Professor Sandi Dizdarevic, as a former war crimes investigator, states that no international arrest warrant has been issued for Vranj for a month or two. That, he says, clearly shows that Serbian intelligence services are collecting data on BiH territory.

“It is a very difficult qualification to tell someone not to travel somewhere, but in any case you should be careful, until you see what this is all about, whether there are other lists besides Edin, and we all know that there are some lists. from 2,500 to 3,500 people for imprisonment. However, it is obvious that some of the political agreements that existed were violated “, says Dizdarevic.

It is necessary to find a solution and an agreement in order to protect the rights of BH citizens, but also in order to have timely information and clear instructions on travel to Serbia, and details why they are allowed or not allowed to travel to that country. What must be clear to everyone is that political disagreements must not be in front of citizens’ rights, BHRT writes.