SIPA and BiH Border Police cannot arrest Dodik, is it time for resignations of everyone in the chain of responsibility?

By: Amra Vrabac

It has been three months since the leadership of the BiH entity of RS has been under investigation for attacking the constitutional order, and while the list of suspects is expanding, police and judicial institutions are unable to deprive any of the individuals who are directly undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement and undertaking activities that are destroying the legal order of BiH of their freedom. Austria and Germany have banned entry for those undermining the constitutional order, but BiH and its institutions are powerless against the suspects.

In the same timeframe, some of the suspects, led by Milorad Dodik and Nenad Stevandić, have left BiH, crossed the state border, returned to BiH, while the BiH Border Police slept or those who swore to guard and protect BiH turned a blind eye. The head of the BiH Border Police is Mirko Kuprešaković, a figure close to HDZ, and the Assistant Director for Organization and Operations is Veljko Lazić, who on March 2nd attended a meeting of "Serb cadres" in BiH police agencies with the political leadership of RS, Milorad Dodik, Željka Cvijanović, Siniša Karan, after the National Assembly of RS adopted the controversial and unconstitutional laws. To this day, Lazić has not faced any sanctions, and he regularly attends all meetings with Kuprešaković, including the last one held on April 28th with the EUFOR commander.

Statement on the BiH Border Police website

At the end of April, the attempt by the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) to serve an arrest warrant on Dodik in Lukavica also failed, and SIPA inspectors were stopped by members of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs while performing their official duties. After that unsuccessful action, it became clear that neither the Border Police nor SIPA can enforce BiH laws and ensure the execution of orders from the Court of BiH. SIPA, just like the Border Police, submitted a report on criminal offenses committed by members of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs to the BiH Prosecutor's Office, but not a single sentence has been presented to the public from the BiH Prosecutor's Office, not even to give the appearance that they are working on this case.

The report that the High Representative Christian Schmidt will present tomorrow before the BiH Security Council states that "the BiH Border Police has recently shown a reduced capacity to control the country's border surveillance," even though there are internal warrants according to which Dodik, Stevandić, and Radovan Višković should be deprived of their liberty.

"Despite the existence of these warrants and their distribution to all police agencies, including the Border Police, the suspects Milorad Dodik and Nenad Stevandić have crossed the state border on multiple occasions without being detained. Border Police officers have not executed the Court's order, raising concerns about the Agency's ability to uphold the law," Schmidt states.

He also notes that Dodik threatened SIPA employees, which is another action taken after the verdict of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina was pronounced.

"On February 27, 2025, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted a law prohibiting the work of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Prosecutor's Office, the HJPC, and SIPA on the territory of the entity. The constitutionality of the law was assessed by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which temporarily suspended the law. Despite this, SIPA initially suspended its work in the entity following the decision of its director Darko Ćulum, citing the risk of conflict with the Republika Srpska police. This decision effectively paralyzed SIPA's activities in the entity, raising significant concerns about law enforcement capabilities. Namely, SIPA is one of the key agencies responsible for apprehending Milorad Dodik, for whom an arrest warrant has been issued. Subsequently, SIPA carried out certain law enforcement activities in the entity, allegedly in cooperation with the Republika Srpska police," the report states.

At the end of March, the BiH Border Police issued a statement regarding the border crossings of the suspects Dodik and Stevandić, stating that all measures and actions are being taken under the order of director Kuprešaković to determine the circumstances and manner in which they crossed the border, and that they will inform the BiH Prosecutor's Office and cooperate with all law enforcement agencies. Instead of informing the public why Dodik and Stevandić were allowed to enter and leave BiH as they pleased, the Border Police pointed out that there are no border ramps at the Rača International Border Crossing. From March 26th until today, the public has not been informed how Dodik and Stevandić were allowed to cross the border, why they were not stopped, who enabled it, whether the border police officers on duty at the border crossing at that time have been sanctioned...

The role of the Deputy Minister of Security of BiH, Ivica Bošnjak (HDZ BiH), who has been heading the Ministry of Security of BiH since the end of January after the dismissal of Nenad Nešić, should not be forgotten either. He has repeatedly claimed that all agencies are fulfilling their legally prescribed obligations. Bošnjak also defended Darko Ćulum at the beginning of March, even though it was clear that Ćulum was carrying out orders from RS politicians and hindering SIPA's work. The peak was Darko Ćulum's resignation on March 18th, but he was never dismissed. He is still the director of SIPA, remotely, as he only occasionally makes secret appearances at SIPA headquarters in Lukavica to obtain information to pass on to the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs and his political masters. Since its inception, SIPA has never been in a worse situation. From an agency that was once feared by car thieves, drug cartels, and arms dealers, it has transformed into an administrative unit with 730 employees.

If they cannot arrest the destroyers of the constitutional order, can all those in the chain of responsibility renounce their positions and resign?