Serb member of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, stated that political Sarajevo has been attempting to block projects in Republika Srpska for years, as it does not want Srpska to develop or receive investments, especially from Serbia. Meanwhile, Srpska has never hindered any project in the Federation of BiH.
Commenting on the statement from the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Nermin Nikšić, who cited Srpska’s alleged secessionist policies as the reason for obstructing two major projects in Republika Srpska, Cvijanović explained that this is merely a smokescreen for the real issue.
“All those projects that Nikšić talks about were halted for one reason — because they were to be implemented in Republika Srpska and because the investor was Serbia,” Cvijanović said.
She added that the resistance to investments from Serbia in Srpska is not a new phenomenon.
“This didn’t start with the current coalition, as Nikšić claims, nor with the parliamentary majority, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. This has been going on for many years, and it’s not the only issue,” Cvijanović said.
She pointed out that there are other problems at the BiH level, such as hundreds of millions of BAM in funds belonging to Republika Srpska being blocked.
“People are simply blocking these funds and don’t want them to be realized. To claim that it’s because of secession or sanctions, or disrespect for institutions, is just wrapping the real issue in a false narrative. The core issue is that these projects are supposed to happen in Republika Srpska, and they don’t want that to happen. The investor is Serbia — they don’t want Serbia as the investor because it works together with Srpska. They don’t want to allocate the funds owed to Republika Srpska because they don’t want Srpska to develop,” Cvijanović emphasized.
Cvijanović expressed surprise that Nikšić is using such arguments, as he knows very well that the issue surrounding the “Eastern Interconnection” and its connection with Serbia has been ongoing for years, with Federation representatives attempting to block it in various ways, even trying to link it with the “Southern Interconnection” project.
She further noted that officials from Srpska and its representatives in joint institutions have never blocked any developmental projects in the Federation.
“We from Republika Srpska have said that every project is good for us, both the Eastern and Southern Interconnections. But the ‘Southern Interconnection’ faces one problem — representatives of the Bosniak and Croat peoples in the Federation cannot agree on how to implement it. There’s also significant foreign involvement pushing for the supply to be managed in a certain way. They don’t need to find excuses for blocking projects on our side. We aren’t blocking the ‘Southern Interconnection.’ Just agree among yourselves, whatever you decide is fine with us in Republika Srpska,” Cvijanović explained.
She emphasized that political Sarajevo has consistently blocked projects in Republika Srpska and funds coming into Srpska for years.
“This isn’t just about the current government; it’s been going on for many years, and it has caused various reactions and statements. If you live in a common country, no one should be blocking your projects,” Cvijanović added.
She reiterated that no institution in Republika Srpska has ever opposed any development project in the Federation of BiH, nor has any representative from Srpska in joint institutions attempted to halt any such endeavors.
“If anything did happen in that regard, it was only a reaction to some previous action. But we don’t have that approach,” Cvijanović concluded.
Source: RTRS
