Špago for NAP: No need to schedule an emergency session of the Council of Ministers, Forto's initiative could be counterproductive

Interviewed by: Delvin Kovač

The head of the SDA Caucus in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, Šerif Špago, believes that the initiative by the Minister of Communications and Transport of BiH and leader of Our Party, Edin Forto, to convene an emergency session of the BiH Council of Ministers, following yesterday's expulsion of German Minister Anna Lührmann from the RS entity, is completely pointless and could even be counterproductive.

Persona non grata

Let us recall, the German Minister for European Affairs and Climate, Anna Lührmann, arrived in Banja Luka yesterday to meet with the opposition from the RS.

However, the President of the RS and the SNSD, the secessionist Milorad Dodik, did not like this at all, because Germany and Austria had imposed sanctions on him, the President of the RS National Assembly Nenad Stevandić, and the Prime Minister of the RS Radovan Višković the day before. They were banned from entering those countries.

Yesterday, on Dodik's orders, Lührmann was denied entry to the RS National Assembly building, where she was supposed to meet with the RS opposition, and then the RS Government declared her persona non grata.

Forto's initiative

"We strongly condemn the expulsion of the German minister from the RS. This is an unprecedented diplomatic scandal by which RS officials endangered the life and safety of a member of the German Government and her team.

This has caused incalculable damage, primarily to the RS, but also to Bosnia and Herzegovina itself. We expect an urgent apology from Bosnia and Herzegovina to the minister herself and to the German government.

Regarding her expulsion, I demand an emergency session of the Council of Ministers and greater determination by the state in prosecuting the RS leadership suspected of undermining the constitutional and legal order.

If this case is swept under the rug, it serves as a precedent for expelling anyone from the RS who does not please Dodik personally. With this act, Dodik has evolved from a domestic and regional security threat into a criminal who endangers the security of European governments.

After this, I expect greater solidarity with Germany on the international level regarding the imposition of sanctions on the RS leadership," Forto stated today.

Deeds of criminals fleeing the law

In an interview with the Patria News Agency (NAP), Špago first commented on yesterday's scandalous move by the RS leadership, which, as he said, once again proved that they are people who have turned away from the system, persistently continuing to violate laws and regulations and undermine the constitutional order of BiH.

- They have once again proven that they are outlaws, and from that perspective, the international community and the European Union will once again see who they are dealing with, as well as we in Bosnia and Herzegovina who respect the Constitution and the Dayton Peace Agreement.

Besides being inappropriate to persecute a high-ranking foreign official like Minister Lührmann in such a manner, someone not sufficiently informed might think this was done by the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

But I believe that Germany and the European Union are aware that these are the deeds of criminals fleeing the law and who are inaccessible to the judicial authorities of BiH - Špago emphasizes.

Such moves by the RS authorities, our interlocutor adds, should of course be condemned, but should never be presented as the fault of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e., its state bodies. Because all German ministers, including Minister Lührmann, are welcome in BiH; they are our friends who have helped and continue to help our country.

Špago stresses that Minister Forto has practically not appeared in public in the past month, except for a few meetings. With this initiative, he tried to hide and justify his inaction since the attack on the constitutional order began and to appear in public as someone proposing something smart.

- I believe it would not be good to schedule an emergency session of the BiH Council of Ministers, because this initiative is doomed to fail due to the way the agenda is set and decisions are made.

Košarac and Amidžić are unavoidable, and then it could be interpreted that the BiH Council of Ministers did not condemn the actions of Dodik and Višković towards the German minister, even though it convened on this issue.

The European public does not know how decisions are made at sessions of the BiH Council of Ministers, so it could be interpreted that the BiH Council of Ministers also supports the actions of the RS entity government - Špago explains.

It is quite clear, our interlocutor continues, that the SNSD ministers Srđan Amidžić and Staša Košarac would not even attend that session of the BiH Council of Ministers, and even if they did, they would not accept any decision or anything proposed.

No need for a session

- There is no need to convene such a session at all, because we have members of the BiH Presidency and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, and it is sufficient for them to explain to both the domestic and international public what actually happened yesterday.

And I believe that in this way, BiH would send a message that all foreign diplomats are welcome in BiH, regardless of these actions by the outlaws currently leading the RS - Špago notes.

He emphasizes that the members of the BiH Presidency and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH should have reacted yesterday and provided full support for the activities of all EU ministers.

He stresses that Germany, primarily as the strongest economy in Europe and one of the leading countries in the European Union, will not easily overlook everything that happened yesterday in Banja Luka.

- It is expected that Germany will impose additional economic sanctions on the Republika Srpska, which will hit businessmen and some other projects the hardest. I expect that in this way, Germany, as a country whose word carries significant weight in the EU, will more easily ensure that many other EU countries impose sanctions on the outlawed RS leadership - Dodik, Stevandić, Višković.

But also on some other officials, primarily the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Director of the RS Police Administration, because this is roughly the structure that is leading all this and continuing illegal and unconstitutional activities, practically leading to a complete blockade of the system within BiH and preventing the implementation of laws in the RS territory - Špago says.

If we look back a year and a half to two years, Špago adds, some of our ministers, especially Elmedin Konaković, boasted that they lobbied for Dodik in European capitals, explaining to the international community that he had changed and become a "European man."

- Unfortunately, it was clear to anyone who followed Dodik over the last 15 years that he had his own policy and was just waiting for the moment when, on the other side, he would get people without political capacity or experience, to reach a situation where he could do what he is doing today - says Špago.

He recalls that after the 2022 General Elections, during the formation of the government, the SDA proposed that the strongest pro-Bosnian parties should enter the state government, primarily the SDP BiH, SDA, and one or two more parties.

- At the state level, there is a struggle for the state, for protecting the interests of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There should be no struggle for chairs, for various dubious tenders and projects, which seems to have been the main goal of the Troika to enter power after the 2022 elections.

The best, bravest, most capable, those who know how to deal with the enemies of the state should come to positions in state institutions, not those who fled when it was necessary to defend Bosnia and Herzegovina with their lives - Špago concludes in an interview with NAP.