Partnership in Addressing the Migrant Crisis

(Patria) - The Mayor of Ilidža Municipality Nermin Muzur, Minister of Security of BiH Selmo Cikotić, Minister of Interior of the Sarajevo Canton Admir Katica, and IOM representative Laura Lungarotti today visited the Migrant Center in Blažuj, where they familiarized themselves with the conditions and life in the reception center. After the visit, a working meeting was held at the premises of the Ilidža Municipality, where concrete measures and activities that must be undertaken to raise the level of security were agreed upon. No new migrants will be accepted in the coming period and security at the Migrant Center will be increased, which is one of the conclusions of the meeting, also agreed upon by Richard Maša, Head of the Cooperation Department of the EU Delegation to BiH.

"The focus of the Ministry of Security of BiH, the Ilidža Municipality, the Government of the Sarajevo Canton, the Service for Foreigners' Affairs, and the IOM is how to increase security and manage the stay and movement of migrants in the reception center. This concerns the physical security of the Migrant Center. This does not only refer to the camp and its immediate surroundings, but also to many public areas where migrants stay, and we need to address this together. The Ilidža Municipality bears the greatest burden in BiH. The European Union and the IOM will take measures to compensate for a number of vehicles of the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Interior that were damaged in the riots, which were within the camp, as well as other types of EU assistance to the local community," said the Minister of Security of BiH, Selmo Cikotić.

"I am extremely happy because in a short period I managed to establish good cooperation with higher levels of government regarding the stay of migrants, and the culmination of all meetings is today's gathering where I am the host. We discussed all the problems and details, and the assessment is that we should only solve this problem jointly and in partnership. The success of this meeting will be visible on the ground, and I hope very soon. We will resolve the issue of camp security, installation of quality fencing, video surveillance, arrangement of the access road and lighting. It is very important that the representatives of the European Union have given support to all projects that we consider important in the security segment," stated Mayor Muzur.

Admir Katica, Minister of Interior of the Sarajevo Canton, emphasized that the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Interior wants and will be an active participant in all processes concerning crime prevention, maintaining order and peace in and around the Migrant Center in Blažuj.