A new hysteria has emerged in Sarajevo over the cooperation between Republika Srpska and Serbia, guaranteed by the Dayton Agreement. This time, certain Sarajevo political circles, especially the SDA and the DF, are opposed to police cooperation during the tourist season. The announced arrival of a few police officers from Serbia to Banja Luka, Trebinje, and Foča has been labeled a “Greater Serbian project.” In response, Srpska claims it is a manifestation of hatred towards everything Serbian, while Belgrade sends a message that they will not give a reason for new conflicts and therefore the Serbian police will not come to Srpska.
Considering that Bosniak politicians in BiH create political intrigues and threats from the most normal police cooperation during the tourist season, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia will not send police officers to Republika Srpska to avoid giving an artificial reason for attacks on Serbia and the Serb people, said the Serbia Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dačić.
Earlier today, Dačić stated that Serbia is ready to cooperate with everyone in BiH within the framework of police cooperation.
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia will not allow anyone to use this as an excuse for conflicts and preparations for war. Therefore, we will not send police officers to Republika Srpska to avoid providing an artificial reason for attacks on Serbia and the Serbian people. If this is a problem for BiH, which it hasn’t been for Croatia for 14 years and Montenegro for 12 years, then we do not have to send anyone or have any police cooperation,” said Dačić.
While the SDA has called the agreed police cooperation and deployment of Serbian MUP officers in Banja Luka, Foča, and Trebinje part of a “Greater Serb project,” the Democratic Front has requested the Council of Ministers to issue an order to the BiH Border Police to prevent the agreed arrival of police officers from Serbia.
The Minister of Security in the Council of Ministers, Nenad Nešić, responded, stating that apart from cheap political points and games, he sees no reason for such reactions from the FBiH, questioning what difference six people can make anywhere in the world.
“Unfortunately, the SDA and the DF of fake Croat Željko Komšić still live in wartime years and see imaginary enemies everywhere. The Serbian MUP is a guarantor of peace and stability in both Serbia and the region, and all our security agencies successfully cooperate with the Serbian MUP,” said Nešić.
The concept of this cooperation is based on the same principles as in other countries, with the motive that police officers from other states contribute to a greater sense of security for foreign guests and facilitate better cooperation in solving criminal offenses, explain the authorities in Srpska.
Unarmed, in their police uniforms, they work according to the orders of the responsible leaders in the police administrations. The presence of Serbia MUP officers will not jeopardize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of BiH, but rather it is those who harbor hatred, noted the Minister of Internal Affairs of Srpska, Siniša Karan.
“The hysterical comments from Bosniak politicians regarding the announced arrival of Serbian MUP officers in Srpska during the tourist season are shameful, as such cooperation exists in all countries of the region and beyond. The presence of Serbia MUP officers will not jeopardize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of BiH, but rather it is those who harbor hatred. It is not the presence of Serbia police officers that complicates the relations between BiH and Republika Srpska; it is you who complicate them with your hatred and its escalation. The problem is the hatred of certain individuals based on irrational facts towards anything that comes from Serbia and has the prefix ‘Serb,'” said Karan.
Radovan Kovačević, a delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, agrees that those in Sarajevo and the parties of Bakir Izetbegović and Željko Komšić cannot go a day without expressing open hatred towards Serbia, Serbs, and anything with a Serbian prefix.
“They characterize every action coming from Serbia as an act of aggression,” said Kovačević.
Staša Košarac, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, stated that any form of cooperation between Srpska and Serbia creates political hysteria in parts of the Federation of BiH, which they use as a political topic to position themselves for the pre-election campaign in FBiH.
“Therefore, they perceive Greater Serb ideologies, Greater Serb projects, and similar things. They see an entire battalion from a single police officer. In such political hysteria, there is no room for reality, and the reality is that the MUP of Srpska protects all citizens regardless of their national affiliation, and will continue to do so in the future, together with colleagues from Serbia,” said Košarac.
The Minister of Internal Affairs of FBiH, Ramo Isak, who often has opposing views towards anything Serbian, confirmed that everything was done in accordance with procedures and that inter-police cooperation is not an act of aggression.
Authorities in Republika Srpska remind that the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministries of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska and Serbia, dated June 18, provides the legal basis for the arrival and stay of Serbia MUP officers in Srpska during the tourist season and that such cooperation exists in all countries of the region.
Source: RTRS
