NO convenes on May 12: Will SIPA remain without new leadership until politicians agree or intervention occurs?

(Patria) - The President of the Independent Board of the BiH PA, Enes Obralija, has scheduled the continuation of the Board's session for May 12, where a ranking list of successful candidates for the deputy director of SIPA is to be determined.

This position has been vacant since July 8, 2024, when Zoran Galić fled to neighboring Croatia to avoid arrest and prosecution for abuse of office and receiving gifts while he was the director of the BiH Border Police.

Formally, he was relieved of his duties as deputy director of SIPA only in October. The Independent Board failed to conduct disciplinary proceedings against Galić, so Galić, as a fugitive from BiH justice, was dismissed at his personal request.

The Independent Board announced a competition for this position only a few months later because there was no agreement among the Board members to proceed with this procedure without the selection of the SIPA director being completed.

The ranking list was submitted to the BiH Ministry of Security as early as the end of August last year. The then-Minister Nenad Nešić wanted to propose Slobodan Radinković to the BiH Council of Ministers for appointment, but due to signals from police and security agencies that Radinković was compromised, this appointment never appeared on the agenda.

Incidentally, the SNSD faction from Doboj wanted Radinković at the head of SIPA, while another SNSD faction supported Darko Ćulum. However, Nešić never sent a new proposal. The list is still valid as the BiH Council of Ministers has not made a decision on it. Looking at the events of the last three months and Ćulum's resignation, he has practically disqualified himself as a candidate for a new term, as he decided to obey politics and move to the MUP RS based on unconstitutional laws. However, since his resignation was not accepted due to certain obstructions by ministers from SNSD who did not want to accept the proposal of the BiH Ministry of Security that SIPA not remain headless, Ćulum is still the director and would now return to the position he fled from.

The BiH Ministry of Security, after the arrest and subsequent dismissal of Nešić, is headed by his deputy Ivica Bošnjak (HDZ BiH). If he wished, Bošnjak could propose to the BiH Council of Ministers the appointment of the remaining candidate from the ranking list, namely Ljubiša Pandurević, the current head of the Financial Intelligence Department, who also holds the rank of chief inspector. According to Patria's information, Pandurević could receive support from ministers of Bosniak nationality.

The BiH Council of Ministers will have to put an end to the saga surrounding SIPA. Better sooner than later, given the increasingly complicated situation within SIPA itself after Ćulum's withdrawal on March 18. The nervousness of the employees themselves is growing, who learn about the events in the Agency more from the media than from their workplace.

Regardless of the claims by cadres in the BiH Council of Ministers from SNSD that they do not recognize SIPA, no one has the right to play with the fate of over 700 SIPA employees and their families.

The responsibility of the Independent Board, which makes decisions based on political agreements, is no less. Thus, out of two members from RS, only one came to the last session of the Board, and when it was time to determine the ranking list for the deputy director, he left the session and broke the quorum for work and decision-making.

If this situation continues and the abuse of cadres from RS in both the Council of Ministers and the Independent Board does not stop, the High Representative has the tools in his hands to unblock the appointment of the leadership of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), at least in this situation where the work of this police agency and the security of the state are threatened.

However, it would be better for all if the institutions did their job without international intervention, because any such decision takes BiH a step back and prolongs the international protectorate.

(A. Vrabac)