CRISIS AT ITS PEAK, CALM IN PARLIAMENT: Calendar empty, no committees or sessions, Ćulum case 'left hanging'

Written by: Amra Vrabac

Although this summer has been turbulent when it comes to the political scene in BiH, and there is an evident crisis for which a solution is still not in sight, it seems that with the end of this week an unjustified calm has set in within the Parliament itself.

The parliamentary calendar shows no scheduled sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, no scheduled committees, nor announcements that usually reach media editorial offices on Fridays for the following week.

No session of the Independent Board of the PA BiH has been scheduled either, which bears responsibility for why disciplinary proceedings were not conducted against SIPA Director Darko Ćulum when, back in early March, he acted according to unconstitutional laws adopted by the National Assembly of the RS. Just a few days after he evicted SIPA members from the building in Banja Luka because the RS MUP requested it (March 7), Ćulum submitted his resignation on March 18, left SIPA, and moved to the RS MUP at the invitation of Milorad Dodik.

The Independent Board of the PA BiH failed to conduct disciplinary proceedings, and at the same time, the Council of Ministers of BiH did not relieve Ćulum of his duties. After nearly four months, Ćulum appeared on July 14 at the SIPA building in Lukavica. He informed the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Independent Board by letter on July 9 that he was returning to his position because he had not been dismissed and that he was withdrawing his resignation.

While a concerning silence surrounds his return, as if everyone has accepted this fact even though he violated a series of laws, state prosecutor Jasmin Emrić is gathering all official information and will file a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor's Office of BiH against Darko Ćulum.

On July 14, Ćulum also took an official SIPA vehicle, even though he had not come to work for four months nor received a salary for that period. There are also unofficial reports that he was deregistered from SIPA during that time, but this needs to be verified by investigative bodies in the Tax Administration of the RS. It is interesting that Ćulum decided on a "return" just a few days after Dodik appeared before the Court of BiH.

It is concerning that the Joint Committee for Defence and Security of BiH has not been scheduled either, in order to thoroughly investigate the Ćulum case.

After OSA Director Almir Džuvo admitted that he participated in bringing Milorad Dodik to the Court of BiH on July 4, when the Court lifted his custody, a session of the Joint Committee for Oversight of OSA's Work was also held. Džuvo attended that session, answered questions about his involvement in that case, but the position and role of Džuvo and Ćulum differ significantly. How is it possible that the head of OSA can be brought to Parliament and questioned, but not Ćulum, who acted according to unconstitutional laws and left SIPA with 700 employees?

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH had all the elements to question Ćulum as a suspect for attacking the constitutional order. However, that did not happen. Instead, the entire case is being trivialized, custody is lifted for Dodik, Nenad Stevandić, and Radovan Višković, and only prosecutor Vedrana Mijović remains on the case.

Although it has the authority, the Committee for Defence and Security has not scheduled a session. Its competencies include, among other things: reviewing and monitoring the implementation of the security and defence policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina; conducting parliamentary oversight with the aim of improving efficiency, transparency, and functionality. The conduct of parliamentary oversight is based on the principles of constitutionality, legality, democracy, and respect for human rights and freedoms.

Instead of doing their job, for which they are overpaid, parliamentarians are going on long annual leave.

Although it was once practice to schedule emergency sessions for the adoption of the Budget, there is still no agreement on the Budget, so parliamentarians will likely have a longer break.

Following the recent decisions of High Representative Christian Schmidt, who determined how the debt to Viaduct will be paid and that the money from the Central Bank of BiH can be used for the procurement of new election technologies, further complication of the situation is expected.

Minister of Finance and Treasury Srđan Amidžić will likely refuse to act on Schmidt's order, so his deputy for finance, Muhamed Hasanović, will have to do it.