Velimir Jukić blocks publication of the Census, now obstructing the BiH Prosecutor's Office investigation

According to the order of the Chief Prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, Goran Salihović, a case was formed in mid-March regarding the verification of the census process.

The team of prosecutors and investigators has the task of determining whether there are elements of criminal liability in this process. The census cost nearly 50 million KM, and if it fails, the budget funds belonging to all citizens will be lost, writes the Patria news agency.

On April 1, the directors of the entity statistical offices of RS and FBiH, Radmila Čičković and Emir Kremić, gave statements as witnesses in the BiH Prosecutor's Office regarding the overall activities related to the 2013 Census.

The Director of the BiH Statistics Agency, Velimir Jukić, and his deputy, Miljan Popić, also received invitations for questioning. However, neither Jukić nor Popić appeared at the BiH Prosecutor's Office on April 26, although it is well known that such invitations are sent several days in advance.

Their excuse, as we unofficially learn, will allegedly be that the mail was lost, and that they went on a trip without knowing about the invitation.

It is evident that Jukić, who almost openly blocks the publication of the Census results conducted back in October 2013 with his constant statements and proposals at the sessions of the Central Census Bureau based on political instructions, is trying to obstruct the investigation by ignoring the BiH Prosecutor's Office's invitations, an investigation that should determine the criminal liability of an individual or several individuals for both the non-publication of the results and the spending of 50 million KM of budget money.

For the record, Jukić staged the same scenario about ten days ago when a session of the Central Census Bureau was supposed to be held. Half an hour before the start of the session, he called and said he couldn't catch a flight to Sarajevo.

According to the Census Law, the results should be published by July 1, and there is a fear that even if the results are published, they will not be internationally verified.

We remind you that European officials have also called for the prompt publication of the census results, as it is the basis for social and economic planning, and one of the first questions in the questionnaire that BiH must complete after submitting its application for EU membership is the exact population number.

For BiH, data from the 1991 census is still being used.