From Silence to Self-Praise: Who Wants to Score Political Points on the Evacuation of BiH Citizens from Italy?

By Amra Vrabac

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina informs the public that for the first time in history, a repatriation activity of Bosnian-Herzegovinian citizens from the Republic of Italy has been successfully realized at the initiative of the co-chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Dr. Bisera Turković, is the first sentence in last night's statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH. 

Besides being a complete lie, it also shows the desire to highlight the merits of the BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs. And to show what kind of lie and manipulation this is, we will start from the beginning. 

The Patria News Agency sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 20 regarding BiH citizens abroad who wish to return to BiH, and we were interested in the procedure for them and how many such requests there were. 

We also asked them to tell us what BiH citizens can expect from BiH embassies and diplomatic-consular representations if they encounter a problem. Some of our citizens are running out of money or accommodation after the situation in the world became complicated with the coronavirus epidemic. 

In the response we received on March 23 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH, they stated that there are requests from BiH citizens, mostly from European countries but also from others. 

"Some of the countries from which there are the most registered requests are Germany - 79, Turkey - 26, the Russian Federation - 16, Egypt - 16, Spain - 10, but these are changing numbers given the very dynamic situation that changes from moment to moment, but all incoming requests are recorded and are constantly being processed," said the MFA BiH. 

Nowhere in its response was Italy mentioned, which was then the biggest hotspot in Europe along with Spain. 

After one of the parents of young basketball players who were in Italy contacted the Patria News Agency, prompted by the response from the MFA BiH, and stated that the BiH Consulate in Italy had been informed about 73 BiH citizens, which Patria published on March 24, on the same day an appeal for the relocation of BiH citizens from Italy was sent from Republika Srpska. 

We sent another inquiry to the MFA BiH on March 24, asking for information about BiH citizens in Italy:

"Given that we received information that 73 BiH citizens in Italy are waiting for information on how they can come to BiH, please tell me if the Consulate in Italy is doing anything about this matter? This concerns a larger number of young athletes, including BiH national team members in basketball. Please provide detailed information, as you did not provide any data for Italy in yesterday's response.".

Within a few hours, a response arrived from the MFA BiH, confirming that 89 people who wish to return to BiH have been registered in Italy. 

"In most European countries, flights have been canceled and bus lines have been suspended, including in Italy, and the competent authorities and institutions of BiH have not established procedures nor planned an organized return of our citizens to BiH for now. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH is looking for the best solution to help our citizens, in cooperation and coordination with the competent authorities of BiH and the entities," is part of the response from the MFA BiH. 

Finally, a charter flight Sarajevo-Rome-Sarajevo was organized on March 27, and 47 BiH citizens returned to the country. 

The statement from the MFA BiH sent to the media last night after the flight states that "the MFA BiH has very carefully and patiently, without public interference in this process, taken all necessary actions to prepare, initiate, and create conditions for the realization of this demanding undertaking in order to protect the health and care of the state for its citizens, especially our young citizens, who, due to circumstances, were separated from their closest family members."
 
If we take what the Ministry states as true, and if services at all levels of government were involved (and thus RS as expected), why was the appeal from the Minister of Family, Youth and Sports of RS to involve the Council of Ministers and relevant ministries sent only after the media reported on the problem with BiH citizens in Italy on March 24? 

How is it possible that the MFA, in its responses to NAP, and later to other media outlets, did not address Italy or speak about the number of BiH citizens, but only confirmed that there were 89 citizens in Italy after the appeal from the parents of young athletes? 

And Minister Turković should be reminded that this is not the first evacuation of BiH citizens in history, as the MFA BiH successfully evacuated hundreds of BiH citizens from Libya in March 2011, including workers from Hidrogradnja who arrived in Sarajevo by charter flight.