Bosniak officials failed to block arms purchase for RS MoI

The purchase of 2,500 rifles for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the BiH entity of Republika Srpska, whose ruling party SNSD has separatist aspirations, has made headlines in the world media. The British Guardian reminds that the entity's MoI purchased 2,500 automatic rifles, "which is concerning given Russia's influence in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina."

The American New York Times writes about how it is impossible to say how far Dodik is willing to go to achieve his goal of breaking up BiH. Citing analysts, the newspaper writes that the president of the RS entity is "ready to do anything to retain power."

The RS MoI is procuring MO5E1 7.62mm caliber and M92 7.62mm caliber semi-automatic rifles from Serbia's Zastava. The entity government stated that the weapons are being procured as part of the RS police equipment modernization program.

"The rifles will be distributed to police stations and made available to members of the RS police in case of need and for interventions."

On the other hand, security experts warn that this is still a form of militarization of the police forces in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two and a half thousand semi-automatic rifles are enough to equip more than one military brigade, which, according to standards, consists of a group of more than 1,500 soldiers.

Professor Goran Kovačević from the Faculty of Criminal Justice, Criminology and Security Studies in Sarajevo warns that the procurement of weapons - whose primary purpose is use in wartime conditions - is material evidence for the claims of the president of that BiH entity, Milorad Dodik, about the military capabilities of the entity's MoI.

"So the message is clear - the territorial integrity and undisputed authority of institutions in the RS are guaranteed by the army codenamed RS MoI," believes Dr. Kovačević.

Civilian parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina are particularly concerned that the RS MoI procured the weapons with all the necessary consent from state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Four state ministries, as well as the Intelligence-Security Agency, gave their consent to the entity MoI for the procurement of 2,500 rifles. Some analysts state that it is additionally concerning that Bosniak officials in these ministries did nothing to prevent this procurement, which indicates either their disinterest or insufficient competence. HDZ officials in the ministries also supported the arms purchase.

The permit for import or export of weapons in BiH is issued by the state Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, but only after obtaining consent from three other state ministries: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH, the Ministry of Defense of BiH, the Ministry of Security of BiH, as well as the opinion of the Intelligence-Security Agency of BiH. When the request for consent in the case of the procurement of these weapons arrived at the Ministry of Defense of BiH, several sectors of the Ministry participated in the preparation of the decision, in which, among others, Bosniak officials work. Any of these officials could have stopped, or at least warned about, this procurement.

"The final document itself, before being signed in the minister's office Pendeš, was signed by her two deputies; Sead Jusić and Boris Jerinić," officials from the Ministry of Defense of BiH unofficially explained to the Patria agency.

SBB is demanding the resignation of the director of OSA, Osman Mehmedagić, a close friend of SDA president Bakir Izetbegović. The Agency states that their opinion is not binding for the import or export of weapons. However, the public has not been informed about what opinion OSA gave regarding the procurement of weapons for the entity MoI. /A. A./