Bukvarević on Čović's initiative: Veterans come first, other issues must be agreed upon!

Dragan Čović, president of HDZ BiH, announced that at the first sessions of the FBiH Government, a decision will be made to establish two sectors within the Ministry for Affairs of Veterans and Disabled of the Defense-Liberation War in the FBiH Government, one for the Army of RBiH and the other for HVO, writes the Patria News Agency.

Some parties have already condemned such rhetoric, and yesterday we wrote that Marinko Čavara, president of FBiH, dictated this very agenda item to Prime Minister Fadil Novalić (!?).

However, Salko Bukvarević, SDA candidate for Minister of Veterans' Affairs, stated for Patria that he heard this news about creating H and B departments in the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs from the media.

- My basic principle will be that the Ministry must operate in accordance with the law on the Government and ministries, and as specified. All other changes must be the result of consensus among all parties, and only then can certain steps be taken. Therefore, any open issues must be discussed – said Bukvarević.

He emphasized that there are precise regulations on how the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs functions and on what principles, and as far as he is concerned, he will adhere to the law and procedures. When asked if it would be dangerous to open such an issue, Bukvarević said:

- We are in the process of integration towards the EU, and any other processes would be superfluous and unnecessary at this moment. Personally, I believe that everything should be done to ensure that the veteran population, families of martyrs, fallen soldiers, and war veterans receive the rights that the law provides them and that we take care of the best possible position of the veteran population and defenders. Therefore, that is the basic task, and all other open issues will be harmonized among those who form the parliamentary majority – said Bukvarević.