Five MPs voted for Konaković's dismissal

(Patria) - An emergency session of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the SNSD did not attend, was nevertheless held.

The session had only one item on the agenda. It concerns the dismissal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers of BiH, Elmedin Konaković, initiated by the SNSD, because, according to the explanation, he insulted the Republic of Srpska Day, thereby showing disrespect towards this entity and its citizens.

At the beginning, the representatives voted to discuss this item despite the proposer's absence.

Otherwise, the deadline for holding this session, which is convened within 30 days of the initiative being submitted, was expiring today.

Mladen Bosić (SDS) said that the proposers did not come because the SNSD is trying to re-establish contact with its partners in power.

"I have to state my position on this item and proposal. We had a bloody war 30 years ago, a tragedy, deaths, and the displacement of many people. After that war, the narratives from the war did not cease. Propaganda took on a different form, but the narrative remained the same. Seeking support from their voters based on a story that can be qualified as hate speech from a time when we were all in conflict. Such a policy keeps BiH shackled, preventing it from moving forward," said Bosić.

He added that all of this happens constantly, especially before elections.

"We are in the middle phase between two election cycles. There is no need to pick at old wounds. This statement made by Konaković and his initiative, I see it in this context. An initiative that would bring nothing good and serves to divert attention from current political issues on the table," Bosić added.

Šerif Špago (SDA) said that SDA is an opposition party and that they would support all dismissals, but they will not support this initiative.

"I have a question for the collegium members. Regarding whether this initiative has a majority, but not an entity majority, how will the procedure proceed? So that we know how to plan our obligations," said Špago.

The Chairperson, Denis Zvizdić, said that there could be no consensus, and he put the initiative to a vote. Five representatives voted in favor, namely the opposition from RS, while 20 voted against and eight abstained, thus the initiative did not receive support. The session then concluded.