Radončić: First, the security of BiH citizens, then migrants

(Patria) - After an extraordinary session of the BiH Council of Ministers, which discussed two topics, the migrant crisis and the coronavirus, Fahrudin Radončić, BiH Minister of Security, addressed the media.  

"Today, at the Council of Ministers, we discussed two or three of the most current issues in BiH. We had a very serious dialogue, or rather a conversation, about the migrant crisis. All members of the Council of Ministers are informed about the information available to the BiH Ministry of Security, our Border Police, the Service for Foreigners' Affairs, the Department for Migration, and, of course, as you know, BiH expects several outcomes," said Radončić.

The state Minister of Security said that, first and foremost, he expects the European Union to "stop the policy of so-called open doors, which has encouraged millions of migrants to head towards the European Union." 

The minister reminded that BiH's greatest obligation is, as he said, the security of our citizens, and then of migrants.

When asked by journalists how to strengthen the eastern border, given that the BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik said that the Presidency had not given approval for members of the BiH Armed Forces to be engaged in border protection, Radončić stated:

"Dodik said that state institutions have no answer to this crisis, and at the same time, he took two steps that do not help us. One is that he did not allow the engagement of Frontex forces, i.e., European police officers, and today we received a message that he is against the BiH Armed Forces coming out to help our border guards.

We must use the resources of the Armed Forces in terms of their tents and tankers, so that we can set up tent settlements. I told my colleagues in the Council of Ministers today that if illegal migrants can be accommodated in tent settlements in Turkey and elsewhere, there is no reason for us to be so generous when we do not have the resources, and that we want to accommodate them in solid facilities. We must know to respect legalism.

The only ones who can make a decision about deploying members of the Armed Forces to the borders of BiH, regardless of the fact that I advocate for it as the Minister of Security, I request it and lobby for it, is the BiH Presidency. Due to Mr. Milorad Dodik's opposition, it made a decision last year that excludes such a scenario, but I am sure that, in the event of an escalation of the crisis, God forbid, President Dodik will react responsibly and care for the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He also hinted at a meeting with the Minister of the Interior of Republika Srpska, Dragan Lukač.

For now, according to Minister Radončić's claims, the tent settlement is a hypothetical issue, and he expressed hope that the setting up of tents will not happen.

"I am sure that if Greece, or rather the European Union, lives up to its task, and it seems to me that it will, then this will be a scenario that, fortunately, will bypass us. But we must, of course, prepare," said Radončić. 

When asked about the possibility of allocating additional funds from the budget for members of the BiH Border Police, Radončić stated:

"Today, unfortunately, at the Council of Ministers, we did not manage to adopt temporary financing, because ministers from the Serb people did not want to vote for that item, so it is not a realistic option. I expect from the campaign launched by the Ministry of Security that domestic actors, i.e., municipalities, cantons, the Federation, will make payments, and the main method of countering the crisis is the relocation of police officers from the Border Police from the western to the eastern border, from the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies, and an increase in the number of members of the MUP of RS from the current 90 to 150 who will, within the Border Police, strengthen the guarding of our border."