Council of Ministers session on hold, Krišto not rushing Nešić's dismissal as HDZ cadre manages Ministry

It is still unknown when the next session of the Council of Ministers of BiH will be held, after the Minister of Security of BiH, Nenad Nešić, was arrested at the end of December and ordered into one-month detention, and the Ministry was taken over by his deputy, Ivica Bošnjak (HDZ BiH).

Following Nešić's arrest, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Staša Košarac (SNSD), announced that ministers from RS will not attend sessions, which means a blockade of the Council of Ministers of BiH. In addition to Košarac, from RS are also the Minister of Finance and Treasury, Srđan Amidžić, and Sevlid Hurtić, the Minister for Human Rights and Refugees. However, it is not known if Košarac also meant Hurtić in this case.

Parties of the 'trojka', which form the state government, are speaking very timidly or not at all about the dismissal of Minister Nenad Nešić.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Elmedin Konaković, stated that he will present his position when and if such a proposal arises. He then shifted the responsibility to the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Borjana Krišto (HDZ BiH).

"We have to ask Chairperson Krišto what she thinks about it, and she can propose his dismissal, so we will follow the case and take a stance in accordance with the arguments," said Konaković.

He added that if SNSD blocks the work of the Council of Ministers of BiH or the adoption of European laws, then the coalition will no longer have a purpose.

However, what suits HDZ at this moment is having an additional vote in the Council of Ministers of BiH. It should not be forgotten that the procedure for electing the director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) has never been completed due to a lack of consensus to put Nešić's proposal on the agenda. The list for the director of SIPA includes three names: Darko Ćulum, Ljubiša Pandurević, and Slobodan Radinković. Nešić proposed Radinković for the director of SIPA. Before the session of the Council of Ministers of BiH, in mid-September, information emerged from security agencies that Radinković's name was mentioned in a conversation between two members of the criminal milieu in June of this year, specifically as an announcement that he was going to a position in SIPA and that "they will have him even higher," while in Doboj they would place their man to watch over them. Responding to journalists' questions about that recording and his connection to those individuals, Radinković stated that his candidacy is still active.

"In the past, many members of the MUP have been linked to that Sky application or I don't know what else. The MUP has not commented. I am the head of the Doboj Police Administration, so that should be enough for anyone smart. That's my comment," said Radinković.

However, the Chief State Prosecutor, Milanko Kajganić, also spoke about appointments to positions and security checks after Nešić's arrest. He called on OSA to verify all information before any person is appointed to a position, stating that it is not enough for someone to say they have not been convicted or indicted. Given the leaks of information in the case of Zoran Galić, who received a tip-off that an arrest operation would take place, Kajganić did not hide his disappointment with such a turn of events and called for special caution when appointing individuals to the most responsible positions. Although he did not name anyone, the question remains whether Kajganić blames director Ćulum for the failed arrest operation of Galić.

In the case of appointing the director of SIPA, it is now very possible that Ivica Bošnjak will propose another candidate to the Council of Ministers of BiH. However, everything will depend on SNSD and whether they will support another proposal.

However, one should not forget the second competition for the election of the deputy director of SIPA following the escape of Zoran Galić, who was dismissed on October 23.

The competition is closed, and the Independent Board should complete the interviews by February and submit the ranking list to the Ministry of Security of BiH. For years, individuals close to HDZ have held positions as deputy directors of SIPA, and Bošnjak, from his position managing the Ministry of Security, can now choose from the candidate ranking list who has HDZ's support.

Although there are too many open questions in the newly created situation, everything will be much clearer if Nešić's dismissal is initiated, as well as who will replace him.

(A. Vrabac)