APPLICATIONS UNDERWAY: Is there enough wisdom among Bosniaks to reclaim the position of SIPA Deputy Director, the 'Trojka' has negotiated poorly so far!

By Amra Vrabac

The deadline for applications for the position of Deputy Director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), announced by the Independent Body, expires on the last day of this calendar year. This position has been officially vacant since October 23rd when the Council of Ministers of BiH dismissed Zoran Galić from duty, after being on the run from arrest since July 8th. The BiH Prosecutor's Office accuses him of abuse of office and accepting bribes while he was the Director of the BiH Border Police, and Galić fled to neighboring Croatia through illegal channels before the BiH Prosecutor's Office operation, and Croatia does not wish to extradite him.

As the application deadline approaches, the question of who will take this position has become topical.

State MP Jasmin Emrić (NES) stated at a press conference today that HDZ BiH has asked the parties of the 'Trojka' for this position.

“I received information that HDZ is asking the 'Trojka' for their candidate again. In practice, HDZ has reserved this spot. This discourages other candidates who meet the general and special conditions for this function. The Independent Body should form a list of five candidates and forward it to the Minister of Security. It is high time for the Bosniak ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH to wake up and protect national interests. All that is needed is to respect the principle of proportionality and the law. It is inevitable that a Bosniak or someone from the 'Others' category be appointed to the position of SIPA Deputy Director,” Emrić emphasized.

The Patria News Agency has also written about possible candidates, including the potential return of former deputy Đuro Knežević to this position, but the question arises whether HDZ still has the credibility to favor anyone for this position after the scandal orchestrated by their cadre Zoran Galić.

The published competition clearly specifies the conditions that candidates must meet, and national affiliation is not among them, meaning all candidates who meet the conditions can apply. The only exception is that a candidate from the Serb ethnic group cannot apply because the director, Darko Ćulum, is from the Serb ethnic group.

The structure of management in police agencies and other security agencies at the BiH level looks like this: SIPA (Director: Serb, Deputy: was Croat), BiH Border Police (Director: Croat, Deputy: Bosniak), DKPT (Director: Bosniak, two Deputies: Serb and Croat), Service for Foreigners' Affairs (Director: Serb, Deputy: Bosniak), BiH Agency for Police Support (Director: Bosniak, Deputy: Croat), Agency for Education and Professional Training (Director: Croat, Deputy: Serb), OSA (Director: Bosniak, Deputy: Serb, Chief Inspector: Croat). Thus, in seven institutions out of 16 management positions, Bosniaks hold five, Serbs also hold five, and Croats hold six, with the position in SIPA currently vacant, making it also five. Almost all these appointments were made during the mandate of the 'Trojka', HDZ, and SNSD, making it clear that Bosniaks are collateral damage of poor negotiations.

Candidates for the position of Deputy Director must have a high level of education – VII degree and at least five years of work experience at that level, the rank of Chief Police Inspector or higher, and at least three years of service at that rank, and must not be members of a political party. They also need to submit a handwritten curriculum vitae (CV) with a signed declaration of national affiliation.

Therefore, there are no obstacles for candidates from the Bosniak ethnic group to apply for this position. According to Patria's information, there are currently six candidates in SIPA with the rank of Chief Inspector who are considering applying. In other police agencies, the number of candidates with the required rank for the position of SIPA Deputy Director is smaller.

It should be recalled that the former Deputy Director of SIPA was Sead Lisak (Bosniak), who was appointed to that position by the decision of the High Representative on September 9, 2005. He also served as Acting Director of SIPA. The first Director of SIPA was Sredoje Nović (SNSD). Therefore, it is time for the position of Deputy Director to return to Bosniaks.

Given that the leaders of the 'Trojka' parties themselves have told their partners from SNSD and HDZ that new negotiators are coming their way, this is a perfect opportunity to secure this position for a candidate from the Bosniak ethnic group and begin to correct the national imbalance that has occurred in these extremely important institutions.

Although the Patria News Agency requested the number of management positions and the national structure of managers from SIPA, they did not provide us with that information. In the response we received today, it was stated that 15 police officers have been appointed to management positions, and 37 police officers to positions of heads of internal organizational units, while four civil servants are employed in positions of heads of internal organizational units of the Agency.

SIPA claims that the national structure of employees reflects the national structure of the population in BiH, according to the 1991 census, which is still used in police agencies.

Sources familiar with the structure of managers within SIPA state that, in addition to the number itself, which is to the detriment of Bosniaks, the distribution of portfolios is also problematic. In the last few years, Bosniaks have lost several positions within SIPA, so the position of Deputy Director would be compensation for some of the other lost portfolios.

However, such a fight requires much more wisdom than the few gray hairs the leaders of the 'Trojka' have gained since taking power. Otherwise, Bosniaks will lose not only positions but also the country beneath their feet.