Open Letter to the Authorities of Una-Sana Canton

(Patria) - After the Council of Ministers adopted a conclusion requesting the authorities of the Una-Sana Canton to implement the decision on accommodating migrants in "Bira" or in the city of Bihać, but also based on operational knowledge that the plan includes the arrest of the Prime Minister of the Una-Sana Canton and his associates, as well as the Mayor of Bihać, in order to clear the way for migrants from Lipa to Bira, we are sending an open letter to the state authorities and the public of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Once again, we clearly and loudly confirm that the authorities of the Una-Sana Canton are part of this people and represent the stance of the citizens of this part of BiH, and that remaining in power means nothing to us if we do not represent the interests of the people who entrusted us to represent them. Over the past three years, over 100,000 migrants have passed through this canton and the backs of its citizens. While the local economy and tourism, peace and security of citizens have been disappearing before the eyes of the state and all of us, the people of the Una-Sana Canton have passed all tests of humanity, and no one has the right to label them as lacking empathy, xenophobic, or other negative traits that are attributed to all of us through the media.

The foundation of every state is justice, and as much as the burden of injustice imposed on us by the state hurts us, we who hold power in these areas will not be accomplices to that injustice, and we will not stand against the interests and security of our people.

We call on all other representatives in power from USK, especially Messrs. Hamdija Abdić, Husein Rošić, and Šemsudin Dedić, to also clearly state, and show through their actions, whether they are on the side of Selma Cikotić or those among whom they live and who elected them to represent them in the state government.

Bihać and Krajina are not 'a handful of people opposing the decisions of the state authorities' but a unanimous stance of the local people, which apparently does not reach far enough, unlike small groups of individuals who gather around other locations in BiH, send a message that they do not want migrants, and their request is immediately granted.

Bihać and Krajina are a part of this country that has been celebrated countless times precisely for its courage, humanity, and patriotism, and we will preserve that trust within our jurisdictions until the end! Regardless of all the consequences we are threatened with from all sides, because it is a greater honor to disappear for justice than to remain a servant of injustice!

We are prepared to bear the consequences of our decisions, and let all others who have a say in this country and bear legal and all other responsibility for the safety of its citizens, the arrival and transit of migrants, and the future of this country also bear them.

Finally, we call on Selma Cikotić, Bakir Izetbegović, as well as the aforementioned representatives in power, to finally come to Bira and hear the opinion of the people of Bihać, to respect the stance of those who most directly bear the consequences of the three-year so-called migrant crisis, and especially their decisions and statements that insult, hurt, and literally destroy this part of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina," the letter stated.