Gratz: While ministers buy vehicles, the amount for the National and University Library of BiH cut by 570,000!

(Patria) - The closure of the National and University Library of BiH represents a huge disgrace that the authorities have inflicted on the citizens of BiH and its capital Sarajevo, said Dennis Gratz, a delegate of DF in the Parliament of FBiH.

"After support for BiH cinematography was suspended, now books have come under attack, and it is obvious that this is a systematic and barbaric assault by the authorities on culture.

All levels of government, from the state down to the Canton, the City of Sarajevo and municipalities bear responsibility. But as a federal delegate, I emphasize the specific responsibility of the Federation Government.

Namely, in 2014, the Federation Government adopted a decision on financial support for institutions of science and culture. At that time, among other things, an amount of 600,000 KM was set for the National and University Library of BiH within the budget of the Federal Ministry of Education and Science.

This item, titled 'Transfer for institutions of science and culture of significance for BiH,' was established by a Government decision at a session on April 17, 2014. The fact is that ten years later, within the same item ('Transfer for institutions of science and culture of significance for BiH'), the amount for the National and University Library has fallen to only 30,000 KM.

While the Federation Budget has increased by over 5 billion marks in the past ten years, the amount allocated for NUB has been reduced by 570,000 KM. From the former 600,000, NUB has fallen to only 30,000, which is a scandalous disproportion. It is true that the current situation at NUB has also been contributed to by a series of poor and uncoordinated moves by the Sarajevo Canton Government, but the Federation Government, as the wealthiest body of authority, also bears full responsibility for the shameful attitude that led to the closure of NUB.

It is completely scandalous that in a situation where ministers allocate millions for the purchase of new cars, there is no money for the National Library, which will lead to the suspension of registrations and issuance of books in BiH, indicating the depth of the abyss in which we find ourselves.

The parties of the Troika, which control the entire pyramid of power from top to bottom, presented themselves as alleged protectors of science and culture, but now they show themselves as barbaric enemies of culture.

I call on the Federation Government, as well as the Council of Ministers, cantonal and municipal authorities in Sarajevo to stop, through coordinated moves, this enormous disgrace they have inflicted on the citizens of BiH and Sarajevo as the capital," Gratz emphasized.