Migrant crisis also in the PABiH: Lovrinović asks Mektić why he doesn't arrest the mayors of Bihać and Velika Kladuša!

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Members of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina are discussing today the Information on the implementation of the Emergency Measures Plan and the realization of activities related to the migrant crisis, but deputies pointed out that this is not an Information, but an Initiative of the deputies of the HDZ BiH Club.

Maja Gasal Vražalica (DF) emphasized that deputies had to write down what Security Minister Dragan Mektić orally presented. She eventually requested a half-hour break, insisting that there was no material and that the situation was serious. 

- I ask that everything the minister said orally be put on paper. Put everything in the form of a proposal and find the necessary funds. It is not entirely true that the Border Police prepared for the migrant crisis; it seems that many only prepared for the election of directors in police agencies – said Gasal-Vražalica.

She added that they do not have a single valid document to discuss this important topic.

Deputy Salko Sokolović (NB) said that the authorities did not work well to find a solution and reminded of the unconstitutional actions of Ilija Lasić, the commissioner of the MUP of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, when migrants were stopped on their way to the reception center in Salakovac.

Nikola Lovrinović said that Minister Mektić caused a crisis by saying that Commissioner Lasić should be arrested.

- Why don't you arrest the mayors of Bihać and Velika Kladuša? You asked for the arrest of the Prime Minister of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton as well. You utter harsh words, and then we are to blame. What you said today is okay, let's find a solution to secure funds for additional employment in police agencies – said Lovrinović.

During Lovrinović's speech, Minister Mektić even attempted to leave the hall. Šefik Džaferović (SDA) said that on St. John's Day, when the cantonal police stopped the execution of a decision by state bodies, it was a serious criminal offense.

- That day, not only Minister Mektić but all institutions of BiH should have reacted – said Džaferović.
Borjana Krišto (HDZ) responded to Džaferović and reminded that according to the BiH Constitution, migration is handled by BiH institutions, and asked whether there is any decision or regulation under which migrants were sent to Salakovac.

In his address on this issue, Mektić said that in BiH it is a matter of illegal, irregular migrations and that, in his assessment, there are currently about 2,500 migrants in BiH. Mektić also said that BiH will face this problem for years.  

He emphasized that the biggest problem is that the Border Police lacks 500 officers and that work needs to be done to strengthen the border. He also said that some officers from the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies and the State Investigation and Protection Agency have been sent to the border.

Additionally, he noted that the Ministry of Interior of the Republika Srpska sent 60 officers to the border, but there is no money to pay these people.

-We need 88,000 KM daily for them, and we don't have that money; I have to ask foreign embassies for funds for that. We have a plan, but someone doesn't care about that plan – said Mektić.

He commented on the decisions of the municipal authorities in Velika Kladuša and Bihać to reject the possibility of migrant centers being located in those towns.

- We found a facility in the Agrokomerc building and have funds from international donors, and in Hadžići we also found a facility, but we cannot access them. Those facilities would meet these needs - said Mektić.

He also said that no migrant has submitted an asylum application and that none of them want to stay in BiH.

He also said that in Salakovac it is a state facility and that he could act there, and he said that the BiH Prosecutor's Office should determine the responsibility of those who tried to prevent it.

- If there is criminal responsibility, please insist on it - he said.