Ćulum is an extended arm of Dodik's policy: Invisible Bosniaks in SIPA and silence that costs the state

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

The State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) is facing a long-standing problem of disrupted national balance in its management structures, resulting in insufficient representation of Bosniaks in key positions.

Even those who currently hold significant positions cannot boast of any influence, and it is particularly unclear why they remain silent about the fact that Darko Ćulum, the director of SIPA, has blunted the edge of the most powerful police agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

How is it possible that almost every day since Milorad Dodik declared SIPA an unconstitutional institution in RS, the public has been confused? Ćulum's behavior, who is clearly an important link in Milorad Dodik's narrative and the undermining of the constitutional order, is persistently being relativized.

All those who cover up or conceal Ćulum's wrongdoings, in terms of disobeying the BiH Prosecutor's Office, under the guise of a security challenge, are actually accomplices in the criminal offense of undermining the constitutional order.

Incidentally, out of the five highest management positions in SIPA, only one is held by a Bosniak. After the dismissal of Vahidin Šahinpašić, head of the Criminal Investigation Department, Žarko Kalem was appointed to his position. Also, after Enes Karić, former commander of the Special Support Unit, took over as director of the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies, Dalibor Milošević was appointed to his position.

This imbalance is not new; it has been present since the mandate of former director Goran Zubac and has not been corrected during the mandates of his successors, including Perica Stanić and the current director Darko Ćulum. For years, the highest-ranking officers have been appointed to vacant management positions due to retirement or departure from the agency, regardless of their ethnicity, which has further deepened the imbalance.

An analysis of national representation shows that the number of Bosniaks is 56 less than they are entitled to according to proportional representation, while the number of Serbs is 70 higher, and Croats are 11 higher.

This situation causes concern due to the lack of reaction from Bosniak staff within the agency. Their silence and inaction regarding the resolution of this problem can be interpreted as a lack of initiative or fear of potential consequences. The absence of adequate representation of Bosniaks in management positions not only violates the principle of equality but can also affect the agency's efficiency, especially in a multi-ethnic country like Bosnia and Herzegovina. And only through struggle and an honest approach to the problem, not by covering it up, can the goal be achieved. This should be clear to everyone after the years-long struggle with Goran Zubac.

Simply put, it is necessary for Bosniak staff within SIPA to become more actively involved in decision-making processes and to advocate for fair and legally sound actions. Sitting in the SIPA headquarters and pretending that everything is normal is not conducive to human progress, nor to the fight against crime and corruption. Or have they also come to terms with the fact that SIPA will only operate in the Federation, with its headquarters in Republika Srpska.

Refusing tasks within its jurisdiction and justifying it with security challenges is absolutely not enough for other institutions not to question what is happening within SIPA. Because Dodik, through unconstitutional laws, also banned the work of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, but today an operation was carried out on the orders of the BiH Court and Prosecutor's Office.

Without active engagement, we will soon be unable to ensure that SIPA, as a key state agency, adequately represents all peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina and effectively performs its tasks, as it has now proven to be the weakest link.
And not because SIPA members are afraid of Dodik or the regime in RS, but because the director, Darko Ćulum, is on a path to relativize Dodik's actions, with the help of dormant members of the Independent Board who see no problem in Ćulum's and SIPA's inaction.