BiH Border Police: Damaged Relations Between Deputy Srabović and Five Chief Inspectors

Relations among Bosniak officials in the BiH Border Police have been strained for months, particularly between Bosniak chief inspectors and the Deputy Director of the BiH BP Zijad Srabović.

Srabović himself confirmed this in a comment for the Patria agency. He stated that there are problems in relations among Bosniaks in the BiH BP, and that he left the last Collegium session precisely for these reasons.

- One of the chief inspectors asked me to promote a certain person, which I refused. Let the commissions decide on promotions - Srabović said, answering the question about the reason for the strained relations within this state agency.

When asked which inspector was pressuring him, Srabović did not wish to reveal.

- My term expires in April next year, and due to such things, I will probably not reapply - Srabović said, adding that he has good relations with Director Zoran Galić. 

Deputy Srabović was initially linked by some BiH BP employees to SBB, and now to being close to SDA. Srabović denies closeness to any political party. He is also accused of failing to establish professional cooperation with any chief inspector of Bosniak nationality.

The chief inspectors of Bosniak nationality in the BiH BP are Almir Bašić, Semir Pašanbegović, Amra Aljić, Fahrudin Ibrić, and Nermin Mrkaljević.

The poor relations between Srabović and the inspectors affect other police officers who are subordinate to these inspectors. 

The BiH BP was also recently shaken by an affair concerning the selection of the 8th class of cadets. Some candidates did not pass the psychological tests. For some of them, the testing was repeated after politics intervened. The BiH Prosecutor's Office and the BiH Ministry of Security have been informed about this, to whom a letter with accusations regarding the admission of the 8th class of cadets to the BiH BP has been sent. Although the process was blocked, Srabović states that he signed the decision appointing the Commission and that the cadet selection procedure continued.

- A crisis exists in the BiH BP, and it could escalate, especially in an election year. Therefore, individuals are exploiting such a situation and working even harder to divide and create conflicts among officials of Bosniak nationality. It is no longer just about the relationship between Srabović and the chief inspectors, but the relations among the chief inspectors themselves are also well shaken. That is, some are close to SBB, and some to different factions within SDA - says a Patria source from the BiH BP.