Meeting of a group of concerned MPs: The peace process itself is threatened in BiH!

A group of state deputies concerned about the newly created situation in and around Bosnia and Herzegovina held a meeting in the building of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, writes the Patria News Agency.

SDA deputy Šemsudin Mehmedović reminded that 13 state deputies (SDA, DF, BPS, HDZ 1990 and A-sda) sent an open letter at the beginning of August to the addresses of high international officials in our country, demanding that the anti-Dayton actions of the authorities in the smaller BiH entity be stopped, due to the scheduled referendum on the Day of the RS.

- We had a meeting of a concerned group of deputies from various political parties who analyzed the newly created situation in and around BiH. We considered all aspects and possibilities of institutional action to overcome the newly created situation. What we can say at this moment is that the deputies who are directly elected by the citizens are concerned about the situation that has arisen in BiH, the announced referendum in the smaller BiH entity, the rattling of weapons from both the east and the west, the arming of our neighbors, and thus the creation of an imbalance in armaments. Citizens of BiH are constantly pressuring us deputies to explain to them what is happening.

We concluded that there are institutions that can act promptly and are obliged to act, and it seems to me that they are not taking steps that go in the direction of protecting the integrity of the state of BiH and its citizens. Therefore, we expect the High Representative to use his capacities and make certain decisions in terms of protecting BiH, that the Constitutional Court and other institutions obliged to protect the Constitution should do so, and that includes the BiH Prosecutor's Office – said Mehmedović, adding that there was a sufficient number of deputies at the meeting, and representatives of those political parties that are signatories to the letter sent to the BiH Presidency and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers were present.

Denis Bećirović, SDP BiH MP in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, said that on July 20, the House of Representatives of the PA BiH reacted promptly to the most serious violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement from 1995 to date.

- We who met today to discuss believe that the Constitution of BiH and the laws of BiH must apply to all of us, and therefore we are of the opinion that there are three institutions that must react as soon as possible in this situation, and these are the High Representative in BiH, established by Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the Prosecutor's Office and the Constitutional Court of BiH. At the same time, neither the BiH Presidency, nor the Council of Ministers, nor the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH should be in the background somewhere, but these institutions must also express their clear opinion – stated Bećirović and continued:

- The situation is extremely serious and threatens further escalation. When I spoke about this topic 40 days ago in Parliament, everyone reacted blandly to these things, and today everyone is aware of the serious situation we are in, and it is clear that the peace process itself is threatened. No one can order us as deputies to discuss and express our views – added Bećirović.

As stated at the end of this meeting, further telephone consultations will be held during the day, so that things can be initiated at tomorrow's session of the House of Representatives of the PA BiH in accordance with the deputies' possibilities and authorities.