Austrian media reveal scandal surrounding prison construction in Lipa: Besides human rights aspects, the scandal also shows increasing arrogance and neo-colonialism

(Patria) - The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) is behind the refugee prison in BiH, which is linked to the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).

This ruling party is also behind the decision to finance its construction with three million euros, writes OTS.at.

This media outlet also states that it has received confirmation for these claims from official Austrian institutions, reports politicki.ba.

"The fact that they are starting to build something, including a prison in a refugee camp, without asking the landowner for permission, shows very well how ÖVP understands the Western Balkans and their belief that they can do whatever they want in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Besides the human rights aspects, the scandal also shows increasing arrogance and neo-colonialism, writes OTS.at.

It states that the land on which the Lipa refugee camp is located belongs to the city of Bihać. It states that no one ever even mentioned that there would be a prison unit within it.

To build it, a building permit is also needed. It is issued by the City of Bihać.

ICMPD, led by former Austrian Vice-Chancellor Michael Spindelegger (ÖVP), has never approached the city authorities on this matter.

OTS.at states that this has been confirmed by the Mayor of Bihać, Elvedin Sedić, the Prime Minister of the Una-Sana Canton, Mustafa Ružnić, and the Bosnian and Herzegovinian immigration office itself.

OTS.at also reports that both the Mayor of Bihać and the Prime Minister of USK have called for an urgent end to mass deportations to the Lipa camp, i.e., illegal pushbacks that have been jointly carried out by Croatian and Bosnian border police in recent days. At least 500 people have been forcibly taken to the camp.

"Although we have asked several times what is happening in Lipa, we have not yet received an answer from the authorities. Along with state-organized mass deportations from Croatia to Lipa, which are now happening daily under the guise of readmission agreements, laws are being violated every day. Pushbacks are illegal," says cantonal Prime Minister Mustafa Ružnić, who has many questions ready for the visit of Austrian EU diplomat Johann Sattler next weekend.

"The flow of money and the appearance of ICMPD, an institute linked to ÖVP, as the implementer of the prison, makes it clear to everyone: the now illegally built prison village within the Lipa camp was planned in Vienna, in a neo-colonial style, and implemented under pressure from the Austrian federal government. All the meetings of Chancellor Nehammer with the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Ministry of Security, the opening of the ICMPD conference by the Minister of Interior Karner in October 2022, as well as the visit of ÖVP's spokesperson for human rights Gudrun Kugler to Lipa in 2021, also speak of this. Repatriation and deportations, which they want BiH to carry out and which they now clearly want to carry out through a prison, have always been discussed. Even more absurd is the hand-washing and distancing we are now seeing. Everything is crystal clear," Petar Rosandić from the organization SOS Balkan Route told OTS.at.

OTS.at further states that this non-governmental organization had warned the Austrian Ambassador and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs two years ago.

"After the rescue operations of our NGO in the Lipa camp, which had burned down at the time, SOS Balkanroute requested an urgent meeting with the Austrian Ambassador to BiH, Ulrike Hartmann, in 2021, calling, among other things, for independent observers at Lipa. We also informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time and expressed concern about the developments at the Lipa camp, requesting that basic human rights be guaranteed here. Instead, we have received an unprecedented human rights scandal," explains Rosandić.

Regarding the current revelations of violence by Croatian police against refugees, Rosandić also reminds that SOS Balkanroute has forwarded numerous pieces of evidence of human rights violations to Austrian politicians in recent years, including to Austrian Minister of Justice Alma Zadić on 20.06.2020.

"We handed over the evidence to the spokespersons for human rights Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic (Greens), Gudrun Kugler (ÖVP), Nurten Yilmaz (SPÖ), and Steffi Krisper (NEOS) for the last time in 2021 and emphasized at the time that this was also the last handover by the Border Violence Monitoring Network and us. There is nothing left to prove, even if new evidence continues to emerge, because there is a system behind it all, and everyone has known for years what is happening on the Balkan route," says Rosandić.