Radončić: Allow 24-hour movement for BiH Armed Forces, health system on trial

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The BiH Coordination Body for Protection and Rescue today adopted a decision that will be sent to the BiH Council of Ministers as a proposal, requesting international assistance for protection and rescue, said the chairman of this body and BiH Minister of Security Fahrudin Radončić. 

"This is part of usual procedures to enable a legal way for all humanitarian goods and aid expected to arrive in BiH. This was also done during the floods, so these are procedures that BiH must have," Radončić said. 

Two additional conclusions were adopted, which, as Radončić stated, is to request a kind of restraint from municipal, cantonal, entity, and Brčko District staffs regarding their requests for the use of BiH Armed Forces resources. 

"These requests should be submitted through the Ministry of Security, and we ask that we avoid using the capacities of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina during this crisis period and rely more on the use of civilian resources. Another, also very practical matter, is to allow members of the Armed Forces of BiH who are on duty to move 24 hours a day," Radončić said. 

The Minister of Security emphasized that he personally and the Ministry of Security highly appreciate all the efforts made by the entity crisis staffs and the Brčko District, as well as our municipal staffs.

"I think that when it comes to security structures in the past month or more, we have managed to gain something called invaluable time, and now our entire health system, our hospitals, our doctors will be put to the greatest test, and we all hope that they will cope with the pandemic that has already begun to claim lives with maximum effort," Radončić said. 

Answering journalists' questions regarding the number of tests in BiH, Radončić said that he personally mediated for the two entity governments to receive certain tests through UNDP and some other institutions.

"I think, from what I hear, 170,000 are coming to the Federation, Republika Srpska has ordered 20,000 tests from UNDP. These are strictly matters for medical professionals now. People from this profession should determine this, and I think they are doing it well now. We have money for these needs, but a situation occurred that no one could have expected, that all countries would be affected by the pandemic at the same time and that they would ban the export of medical supplies to other countries, so BiH found itself in a situation where we are seeking commercial aid, to buy, not to be gifted. I think we have done a lot as a country," Radončić said.