SDP BiH: Authorities in FBiH have halted the fight against corruption and organized crime

The Social Democratic Party of BiH reminds the public, citizens, and especially the SDA, SBB, and HDZ coalition that August 1, 2016, marked exactly two years since the Law on Combating Corruption and Organized Crime in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina came into force. Unfortunately, due to the ignorance and arrogant refusal of its implementation by the current authorities in FBiH, this law remains a dead letter, reports Patria News Agency.

This is one of the key legal instruments from the package of "anti-corruption laws" adopted by the Parliament of the Federation of BiH in the spring of 2014. Instead of deceiving each other in various catering establishments, the leaders of SDA and HDZ would be wiser to focus on implementing this Law, which is their obligation.

The Law stipulates, among other things, the establishment of special judicial institutions within the Supreme Court and the Federal Prosecutor's Office of FBiH. These institutions are competent for the prosecution and trial of the most severe forms of corruption, organized crime, terrorism, economic crime, and privatization fraud throughout the entire territory of FBiH.

Although all parliamentary parties, except for HDZ BiH, voted for this law under pressure from the civil protests in February 2014, the current authorities have done nothing to ensure its application.

This particularly applies to the Government of the Federation of BiH. The SDA-SBB-HDZ government first failed to spend the funds allocated in the Budget for 2015, which the government led by SDP BiH had set aside for these purposes, just as it did not spend a single KM for the implementation of this Law from the Budget for 2016.

It is quite clear that the ruling parties, especially SDA and SBB, which voted for the adoption of this Law, are deceiving citizens for the umpteenth time and are only declaratively committed to fighting corruption and various "tsunamis," while doing absolutely nothing concrete in that direction.

The question arises as to what kind of country we live in, where the implementation of a law that is in force depends on the will of a few powerful individuals, and who benefits from municipal and cantonal courts, which are currently not competent, trying cases falling under the jurisdiction of the special departments established by this Law?

This can only benefit various corrupt officials and their associated interest groups and individuals who continue to enrich themselves illegally at the expense of "their" peoples, whose interests they allegedly protect with all their might.

SDP BiH will never give up on the implementation of this law and a decisive fight against corruption, and we will continue to fight for its application to begin. We particularly call on the EU Delegation to BiH, which provided very concrete assistance in preparing and adopting this law in Parliament, to exert the necessary pressure on the authorities to implement the laws that are in force. In this way, they will demonstrate in practice that they truly want to help in the fight against corruption, the biggest scourge of our society.