Nikšić and Višković must be criminally prosecuted for failing to implement decisions in the Jahorina and Vareš cases!

By: Rasim Belko @rasimbelko

The deadline for implementing decisions in the Vareš and Jahorina cases expired on October 18 and 19, and the BiH public still has no information on what the entity governments have responded to the Constitutional Court of BiH regarding the measures taken.

We remind you that the Constitutional Court's Decision requested the restoration of the status quo for forest land that was repurposed in Vareš and land sold on Jahorina.

Therefore, the governments of the FBiH and RS had to do what the Court ordered them to do within the given timeframe from receipt to the expiration of the deadlines. True, at this moment we have no information on whether and what the entity governments have responded to the Constitutional Court, but the factual situation on the ground clearly indicates that they have not acted on the decisions in either case.

Regarding the RS Government, this is an expected outcome, given that the authorities in that entity adhere to the legal provision that they will not implement the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH. Thus, we did not expect the property on Jahorina to be returned to the state.

Shortly after the publication of the Constitutional Court's Decision in the Vareš case, the Federation Government announced publicly that it would annul the controversial decisions on the repurposing of state-owned land. But they did not do so, given that the mine, which was established on illegally acquired territory, is still operating.

Both decisions of the Constitutional Court are clear and leave no room for the usual machinations. Because the return of the seized land owned by Bosnia and Herzegovina is now an obligation for the authorities in both entities.

Failure to act on the decisions of the Constitutional Court and their non-execution is a criminal offense under the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following this fact, it is clear that at this moment there are elements of a criminal offense for which those responsible in the entity authorities must be prosecuted.

In both cases, the prime ministers and relevant ministers are the first among those responsible. Radovan Višković and Nermin Nikšić, as well as Kemal Hrnjić and Savo Minić, should have already been questioned by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I say 'should have', because only in this way can the Constitutional Court, the judges of that court, and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina preserve the little remaining dignity in the face of the onslaught of various political, resource, and other brokers of foreign and domestic origin.

In the Jahorina case, a broker close to Milorad Dodik received a huge area of the mountain, never before so favorably, from the segment of protected state property, so after questioning the aforementioned, this duo should also be heard. Likewise, the mayor of Vareš should be summoned for questioning, as well as the owners and responsible persons of the company Adriatic Metals, as investors on illegally seized land of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ambassadors, a few of them, must also be exposed because they cannot be criminally prosecuted.

The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a simple case, complete with hectares of land that serve as the strongest evidence of criminal activities, not only the non-implementation of the Constitutional Court of BiH's rulings but also favoritism towards pre-arranged businessmen to illegally purchase state land.

And that, in turn, raises the issue of criminal responsibility that extends even to the issue of treason, one of the most serious criminal offenses for the most responsible officials who have sworn allegiance to the BiH Constitution.

To conclude, Nikšić, Višković, Hrnjić, and Minić must be held accountable for the sale of state land, for the non-implementation of the Constitutional Court of BiH's rulings, and at the end of the story, Milorad Dodik and those who brought Adriatic Metals to FBiH for favoring pre-determined entities in the purchase of seized state land.