ABSURD: You can put a foreign country's flag anywhere in BiH, there's no fine!

There is no legal framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina that would regulate the display of foreign flags in public places across the country, writes the Patria News Agency.

- The Law on the BiH Flag does not specify where and on what occasions the flags of foreign countries are displayed on the territory of BiH, nor is it regulated by any other law at the BiH level – say the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH.

This disappointing answer was received by Saša Magazinović, an SDP MP in the State Parliament, who asked "when and where is it permissible to display flags, coats of arms, and symbols of other countries on the territory of BiH and which legal acts regulate this?"

- I am truly surprised by this answer. In practice, this means that anyone can now hoist the flag of a foreign country on a flagpole and get away with it, because there is no law that prevents it – Magazinović told Patria.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a Law on the Flag that specifies the official display of the flag at the state level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which states that the flag is displayed on all buildings of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Council of Ministers and its three ministries, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Permanent Committee for Military Affairs, the Human Rights Commission, the Central Bank, and the Central Election Commission, as well as on any other building of BiH institutions managed by joint institutions or responsible to joint institutions.

However, we are often faced with the fact that even BiH officials display flags or coats of arms of other countries alongside the state flag. Thus, Dragan Čović, member of the BiH Presidency, often displays the unconstitutional flag of the so-called Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna alongside the state flag in public appearances. Throughout Herzegovina, flags of Croatia or the so-called Herceg-Bosna are displayed on public street lighting poles. On the other hand, in Republika Srpska, the flags of Serbia are displayed, but at this moment, unfortunately, this is legal.

Such examples are unheard of in other countries in Europe and the world. You cannot just wave flags of other countries, which students on excursions often experience firsthand. For example, in Greece, police officers banned BiH students from walking the streets of Athens wrapped in BiH flags. The situation is similar in the countries of the region.

It is remembered that the Slovenians fined a large number of Croatian fans at the border who were going to their team's match during the European Football Championship. In 2008, 60,000 Croats traveled to Austria. Slovenian police fined those who displayed the Croatian flag on their cars with as much as 200 euros because the display of foreign flags is only permitted for official delegations.