Bećirović: Čović, either start working or submit an irrevocable resignation!

(Patria) - Denis Bećirović, Vice President of the SDP and delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in his address to Dragan Čović, emphasized that the blockade of the state and state institutions is a dangerous anti-constitutional act with unforeseeable consequences.

"Therefore, stop such politics and unblock the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is high time you realized that citizens and peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot and must not be hostages of irresponsible politicians! At the foundations of a legal, democratic, and European state lies the duty to respect and adhere to the constitution, laws, rules of procedure, and legal order. True European values are dominated by the imperative maxim that mandates consistent obedience to laws – not to irresponsible politicians and their subjective wills and assessments.

Bearing in mind the aforementioned, I have been demanding for months the unblocking of the work of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The last request in this regard was submitted last week (8 November 2021), based on Article 9 of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina" No. 58/14, 88/15, 96/15, 53/16), when I submitted to the parliamentary procedure a request for convening an urgent session of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at which the first item on the agenda would be: "Information from the Collegium of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the reasons for the blockade of the work of the highest legislative body of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with special reference to the explanation of the legal basis for blocking the work of this state authority."

In the explanation, I stated, among other things, that the blockade of the work of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a dangerous and inadmissible adventure with characteristics of anti-parliamentarism as one of the fundamental features of totalitarian regimes.

The blockade of the work of the highest legislative body of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a dangerous undermining of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Rules of Procedure of the House of Peoples. Such practice is unacceptable, and therefore I publicly demand that you finally cease such destructive political activity. Your irresponsible actions are a direct blow to the principles of a legal and democratic state. Without the rule of law, there is no peace, no true democracy, no human rights and civil liberties, no equality, and no sense of security. As a person who presents himself in public as a bearer of European values, I draw your attention to the fact that all the highest legal acts of the European Union member states, including the Treaty on European Union, have positioned the principle of the rule of law at the highest place among the postulates by which those systems function.

What you are doing, Mr. Čović, represents an attempt at an anti-constitutional capture of the legislative authority of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After having captured the entire Bosnian entity of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in previous years, you have now decided to actively participate in the attempt to capture state authorities. It is time to stop and realize that legislative authority is one of the fundamental pillars of the rule of law. Responsible, professional, and efficient legislative authorities are the best shield for citizens against insecurity and anarchy.

Disrupting the work of the highest legislative body is an arrogant deprivation of fundamental rights for people living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Where do you get that right? On the basis of which legal acts do you pursue such an anti-constitutional and anti-European policy? It is high time you answered these and similar questions. Mr. Čović, I once again call on you, as the Chairman of the House of Peoples, to start doing the job you are tasked with and handsomely paid for, and to convene a session of the highest legislative body of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible. The parliament, in addition to its constituent, legislative, supervisory, and other functions, should also perform the function of connecting and synthesizing the demands, wills, and interests of the entire society towards the state and its institutions. In this sense, Mr. Čović, as the Chairman of the House of Peoples, you should lead in the affirmation of democratic political culture and European democratic values, not be the creator and promoter of the destruction of the rule of law and European standards.

Mr. Čović, the time of inaction and idleness has expired. Therefore, I openly tell you: either start working or submit an irrevocable resignation!", stated Bećirović.