If the BiH Prosecutor's Office won't, then SIPA employees should prevent Darko Ćulum's return!

By Amra Vrabac

The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is unable to provide the public and media with information about proceedings and activities in cases in the preliminary criminal procedure phase (application or investigation phase).

This is the response of the BiH Prosecutor's Office to Patria's inquiry about the actions taken regarding the attack on the constitutional order, how many suspects have been interviewed so far, how many suspects there are in total, and whether Darko Ćulum is among the suspects, given that he acted according to an unconstitutional law and responded to Milorad Dodik's call to withdraw from the position of SIPA director and move to the MUP RS?

At a time when BiH is in its biggest crisis since the aggression against BiH, not only politically but also in terms of security and economy with a tendency for further complications, the BiH Prosecutor's Office, as the only judicial institution that can and should sanction those who attack the constitutional order and protect the legal order of BiH, sends a bad message to both the media and the entire public with such responses. It's as if they are not doing the job for which they are well paid by the state, which they clearly do not respect enough to protect it.

When the news was announced that Darko Ćulum wanted to return to the head of SIPA, it caused disbelief not only among SIPA employees but also among those with a modest knowledge of law and legal provisions applicable in this country.

It is true that the Council of Ministers of BiH did not relieve Darko Ćulum of his duties as SIPA director after his resignation on March 18, but only because the ministers from SNSD did not want to agree to the appointment of an acting director until a new director or deputy director was appointed, as SIPA had been in such a situation before. However, from this distance, it would have been better to leave it without leadership than to have this absurd situation today.

When submitting his resignation, Ćulum authorized three individuals to manage certain processes within SIPA, but the Law on SIPA is clear. These authorized persons cannot issue orders for the use of the Special Unit, and SIPA's operational work has been jeopardized in recent months, not only in RS after the adoption of unconstitutional laws but throughout BiH. It is clear that these events have also caused tensions within the Agency itself. So far, no incidents between employees have been recorded, but even the last two addresses from the SIPA Trade Union send a message between the lines: This is an unsustainable situation.

Ćulum's return to SIPA after all the activities he undertook, violating the Law on SIPA, the Law on Police Officers, disregarding the decisions of the BiH Constitutional Court, and ultimately leaving 700 employees in a very unenviable situation, making himself available to the MUP RS whose officers used threats of force to prevent SIPA inspectors from arresting Milorad Dodik, would be a direct blow to the state, but also to every employee who has been living through an ordeal for 50 days and no one is asking them anything.

Ćulum has not come to SIPA premises for almost 50 days, except for one secret visit last week, which Patria wrote about, and when he held a Collegium!? Imagine, a man resigns, literally spits on SIPA, and then comes and holds a Collegium. Those who allowed him to enter the SIPA building then and listened to what he had to say after all should seriously question who and what they represent. Perhaps Ćulum was thinking of them when he said that some employees were calling him to return. I am sure that a significantly larger number are telling him that he has no business in SIPA anymore. Except to be arrested.

Based on all these facts and the voluntary departure from the position of SIPA director, whose mandate has in any case expired in July 2024, Ćulum cannot and must not return to office, given the high probability that he also has the status of a suspect for attacking the constitutional order.

If the Independent Board failed to conduct disciplinary proceedings as early as March, and it is now evident that this was done intentionally, even claiming that his presence at the meeting on March 2 with the political leadership of RS did not constitute a violation of work duties or the Law on Police Officers or the Law on SIPA, then the judiciary of this country should by no means absolve Ćulum of criminal responsibility for undermining a state institution.

In this sudden desire of Ćulum to return to SIPA, one should by no means fall for the story that he is returning for financial reasons and an unresolved labor-legal status, but exclusively as part of a broader plan by the RS leadership to decapitate SIPA more easily with Ćulum at the helm than without him.

Ćulum would thus have all the information, and it is not excluded that he still has it, because some people are secretly meeting with him in Lukavica and outside of SIPA.

However, any scenario in which Ćulum would return would also result in the departure of this police agency, likely by most cadres from among Bosniaks. The disastrous consequences of relocating the Regional Office Sarajevo to Lukavica are now evident. However, when everything is considered, it is clear that it is all part of a broader plan by the RS leadership. To weaken institutions, to deplete them of staff, and to make their work meaningless so that in the end, even the employees on the verge of nerves say: DISSOLVE US!