NIP supports activities of civil society organizations and Principles for amendments to the Constitution of BiH

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Realizing the joint commitment to organize meetings with the leadership of political organizations, representatives of civil society organizations of the Council of the Congress of Bosniak Intellectuals, the Croatian National Council in BiH, the Serbian Civic Council – Movement for Equality and the Forum of BiH Parliamentarians 1990 held a meeting today in Sarajevo with the NIP delegation led by Deputy Presidents Kemal Ademović and Denis Zvizdić, and Political Director Rusmir Pobrić.

During the meeting, the delegations exchanged information on the current socio-political and constitutional crisis, as well as the ongoing negotiations on changes to the Constitution and the Election Law in BiH. The Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Zvizdić, informed those present about the activities in state institutions and the blockades taking place, as well as his view of the current constitutional crisis.

The NIP delegation clearly expressed support for the agreed Principles for amendments to the Constitution of BiH, which were agreed upon by non-governmental organizations and which, via the web application www.izmjeneustava.com
were supported by more than 62,000 citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the homeland and abroad, as well as dozens of other NGOs (KBSA, Institute for Research of Genocide Canada, Society for Threatened Peoples, Center for the Promotion of Civil Society, Jewish Cultural Society La Benevolencija, Association Croatian Home, etc.).

Deputy President Kemal Ademović emphasized that NIP had already supported the offered Principles and that it will once again officially call on its members and sympathizers who have not yet done so to support the offered Principles via the web application. NIP believes that the offered Principles can be a starting point for gathering political forces whose priority is the fight for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which all peoples and citizens will exercise full human rights and freedoms. The NIP leadership encouraged non-governmental organizations to continue talks with other political organizations, primarily those that have their representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and that clearly oppose and do not accept ethno-national division in BiH. The Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Zvizdić, is available, at full capacity, to jointly coordinate meetings and activities of representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and civil society organizations.

During the meeting, special attention was also paid to the issue of resolving state property of BiH, where it was clearly agreed that the basis for all talks is the implementation of the final judgment of the Constitutional Court of BiH, which clearly ruled that the state of BiH is the owner of state property, and that the issue of ownership cannot be negotiated, while the scope and manner of managing and using state property by lower levels of government should be defined through the procedure and decision-making in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. The NIP Presidency formalized this position at its last session.

NGO representatives expressed gratitude for the visit of the NIP leadership, the open discussion, and the commitment to send a clear message to domestic and international officials that Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs in Euro-Atlantic integrations and that BiH has the right to be organized like all democratic states in Europe.