FBiH Government Appointed: Political or Professional Counter-Terrorism Group

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - As part of personnel decisions in the Interdepartmental Working Group of the FBiH Government for the development and implementation of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Fight against Terrorism in FBiH, and in relation to the implementation of the Strategy of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Prevention and Fight against Terrorism, the president and members of this group were recently appointed. Sead Lisak was elected president, and a discussion and surprise arose in the public that persons from healthcare, social protection, and education were chosen as members of the group against terrorism.

Thus, Goran Čerkez, Assistant Federal Minister of Health, was appointed to this group. Miroslav Jurešić, otherwise from the Sector for Social Protection and Protection of Family and Children of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Mersiha Udovčić, and Nadija Bandić from the Sector for Textbook Policy of the Federal Ministry of Education and Science were also appointed as members.

Then, Nermin Sijamhodžić, Fahrudin Solak (Director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration), Vlado Azinović, Elmedin Muratbegović, and Elma Omersoftić (members). Armin Kržalić, representative of the Center for Security Studies, explains to Patria that the FBiH Government appoints people who are not worthy of performing the selected duties based on their professional competencies.

“It is standard procedure for people to be appointed to commissions of institutions who, based on their professional quality, cannot perform these tasks, nor, when we talk about the fundamental role of protecting sovereignty, can they work on tasks of protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state,” said Kržalić.

He adds that suitable candidates are chosen so that the FBiH Governments have complete control over the Commission.

“Suitable candidates are appointed, and no one looks at the structure itself or the qualities of that person to see if they can contribute to improvement, but rather they are chosen pro forma to have a filled commission, to have a commission under the control of the one who appoints it, and no one looks at the expertise and professionalism of the selected staff,” states the professor.

Professor Vlado Azinović, however, points out that the fight against terrorism is not just a matter for the police, but a matter for the entire society.

“The fight against terrorism begins in the family. Therefore, it is completely understandable that a multi-departmental body is involved in preparations and activities of this kind, because when you look at the profiles of those who went to foreign battlefields and committed acts of terrorism in BiH, you see that most of them come from dysfunctional families,” said Azinović.

“It is reasonable that in this type of activity, besides the police and intelligence services, whose job it is, people with other knowledge should be involved. Prevention is a matter for society, and repression is a matter for the police and judiciary,” concludes Azinović.

Goran Čerkez tells Patria that he managed the socio-health reception of individuals who came from the battlefields in Syria.

“I recently gave a lecture on that segment to all prosecutors in the region. I have been in the field of mental health for many years, and mental health and social conditions are among the main triggers for choosing such actions. There is no political decision here,” said Čerkez.

Regarding the membership of Fahrudin Solak, director of the FUCZ, it was explained to us that he covers four out of five sectors.

“We need to know the infrastructure we possess, the potential risks on the ground,” said Čerkez.