Agić: There were arguments over aid distribution during floods

Samir Agić, Assistant Minister of Security of BiH for Protection and Rescue, speaking about the recent unprecedented floods that hit BiH, says that all aid for which the Ministry of Security was responsible for distribution was distributed in accordance with the agreement reached at the BiH Council of Ministers or at lower levels.

- In the distribution of food and other necessities, the Ministry of Security did not participate in the second phase, but only in the initial emergency moments when the goods were sent to the Red Cross or local soup kitchens. Later, this was taken over by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other competent entity and local institutions. The last package of humanitarian aid arrived from the Russian Federation, consisting of 38 tons of food, which was sent to the Red Cross through the Ministry of Security – Agić stated.

As he himself admits, nothing in BiH can pass without discussions about who is who and who needs more, and this was also the case during the floods.

- There were different views and analyses that resulted in different data on who needs what, and in the end, they agreed again. We in the Ministry of Security do not have information about any extreme problems related to aid distribution – Agić added.

The Operational-Communication Center of the Ministry of Security of BiH operates 24 hours a day throughout the year, and they had a particularly large workload during the May floods when, in coordination with the Armed Forces of BiH, they evacuated and rescued over 3,000 people.

- During the recent floods, we did not have interventions. We only had a rescue operation for five Czech tourists from the Maglić area, which we successfully carried out, saving five more lives. The final number of evacuated people is practically impossible to determine. The system is such that entities are not obliged to report to the Ministry of Security on how many people their services have saved – Agić added.