Should the Peace Implementation Council convene due to the reserve police force in RS?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Security Commissions of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH today requested representatives of the international community in BiH, primarily the OHR, to stop the formation of a reserve police force in the BiH entity of Republika Srpska, due to, as stated, the undermining of security and the unrest of citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Both the government and the opposition in RS supported the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Police of that entity, which includes the introduction of a reserve police force in that part of BiH, as well as the possibility of engaging police officers from other countries, by issuing false identities to both domestic and foreign police officers, which has caused sharp reactions in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Academic, director, and writer Gradimir Gojer stated in an open letter to the OHR that for the genocide committed in Srebrenica, besides the military formations and police of Republika Srpska, the entity itself was blamed and convicted, and that such a, as he called it, potential military formation is allowed to have a "reserve force."

The OHR previously announced that they do not understand "the existence of a reserve police force in RS."

"Since the parliamentary procedure is still ongoing, we call on RS officials to submit the draft amendments for broader discussion among domestic and international actors in a timely manner, and we remind that the establishment of a reserve force must correspond to the needs that fall within the jurisdiction of RS. We call on the National Assembly of RS to respond transparently to these remarks, as well as to the concerns expressed by certain political entities and civil society actors, and at the same time ensure that the proposed amendments fully meet international standards and the General Framework Agreement for Peace," the OHR stated.

It is still unknown whether an extraordinary session of the Peace Implementation Council in BiH (PIC) will be convened. The last one was called at the end of February, after the SDA announced that they would seek a review of the name of the entity Republika Srpska before the Constitutional Court of BiH. That extraordinary PIC session was called by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to BiH, Petr Ivancov, who now supported the establishment of a reserve police force in RS.

The PIC consists of 55 countries and organizations that provide support to the peace process in BiH in various ways, writes the Patria agency.