Ćulum's retirement decisions 'target' Bosniaks in SIPA, their numbers are decreasing in leadership positions, the Three parties remain silent as a grave

By Amra Vrabac

Since January 21st this year, the position of Head of the Criminal Investigation Department in the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) has been vacant, following the retirement of Suad Hasanović.

Although SIPA responded to Patria that no new head of the Department has been appointed nor a decision made, different information is coming from this police agency. By verbal order, Igor Kujača is performing these duties. He is also the head of the Department for Combating Organized Crime, Human Trafficking, Drugs, and Other Criminal Offenses. Although Amer Veiz should have taken over this position based on his rank, this has not happened yet. Thus, Bosniaks now have one less leadership position, which is just one of a series of lost positions in the past period.

Since the beginning of the year, Darko Ćulum's decisions have led to several Bosniak cadres being sent into retirement, so there are no longer Bosniaks in leadership positions in the Special Unit. The position of commander of the Special Support Unit was also taken away from Bosniaks after Enes Karić moved to the position of Director of the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies in 2023. Dalibor Milošević was appointed commander.

SIPA Director Darko Ćulum, whom the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina keeps in this position despite his four-month absence and move to the MUP of Republika Srpska during the attack on the constitutional order by the entity authorities of Republika Srpska, has prepared the ground for the retirement of several more Bosniak cadres.

Thus, SIPA requested the MUP of Una-Sana Canton to pay the missing service record for Edin Malkić, head of the Regional Office Sarajevo. This week, the decision from the MUP USK arrived, and in the coming days, Ćulum will make the retirement decision. Whether Bosniaks will lose that position as well will be known very soon.

Regarding leadership cadres in SIPA, as of February 6, 2026, the situation is as follows: Out of 14 positions, seven are held by Serbs, six by Bosniaks, and one by a Croat. Considering that the director (Darko Ćulum from the Serb ethnicity) and his deputy Dragan Andrić (Croat) are not included in these positions, the situation is actually 8 Serbs, six Bosniaks, and two Croats.

The situation is no better when it comes to chief inspectors, which is the highest rank in the police, and out of ten positions, five are held by Serbs, four by Bosniaks, and one by a Croat.

SIPA confirmed to us that during 2025, 33 police officers were retired, namely 14 Serbs, 10 Bosniaks, and 9 Croats. In 2026, 53 police officers are due for retirement, namely 35 Bosniaks, 13 Serbs, and 5 Croats. Since the beginning of 2026 alone, about ten Bosniaks have received decisions or have had their service records requested for payment from other police agencies where they previously worked.

Police officers have the right to appeal, which is submitted to the Police Officers' Appeals Board. The retirement decision does not take effect until the Board makes a decision. The Appeals Board has not existed since December 16, 2025, and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina has failed on several occasions to appoint new members to the Board. A new attempt is scheduled for February 9th.

Regarding Bosniak leadership cadres, Vahidin Šahinpašić applied for the position of Deputy Director of FUP, and interviews will be held next week. If appointed by the Government of FBiH, Šahinpašić could leave SIPA by the end of February. Šahinpašić is the head of the War Crimes Department and a former head of KIO.

Incidentally, during Ćulum's mandate, the number of Serbs and Bosniaks was equal, while with these retirements, the number of Serbs will be higher than the number of Bosniaks for the first time, meaning the prescribed national structure according to the 1991 census, which is still applied in state police agencies, will not be respected. This situation precisely triggers an alarm to change the application of the census and for police agencies to start filling positions based on the results of the 2013 Census. However, Bosniak politics, nor the parties that tag along with Bosniaks, are interested in this, nor do they understand the security sector.

The Three parties have been silent for months about the obvious devastation of Bosniak cadres in SIPA, which Ćulum governs sovereignly, even though his mandate expired in July 2024, and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not want to vote on the ranking list or enable a new competition. Ćulum will remain in his position until that happens.

And while we are talking about retirement, Ćulum has 49 years of service according to records. However, the law does not apply to him.