Republika Srpska member of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments Anđelina Ošap Gaćanović told SRNA that the situation surrounding the Commission confirms that Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović, by exercising her constitutional veto right, defended the constitutional position of Republika Srpska and the Serb people, adding that criticism from part of the opposition had proved short-sighted.
She said BiH Presidency member Željko Komšić, by acknowledging that the Commission effectively no longer exists, had confirmed what had been warned about from the beginning.
“It is significant that Komšić himself is now speaking about the mistake made by Bosniak member Denis Bećirović and confirming that he participated in and voted for such solutions. His statements, as well as the departure of UNESCO experts, confirm what Željka Cvijanović warned about from the very beginning – that a Dayton institution cannot be changed unilaterally, that Republika Srpska cannot be excluded from it, and that such an arrangement cannot then be maintained by bringing in international experts,” Ošap Gaćanović said.
She said the attempted implementation of what she described as an invalid decision on the appointment of foreign members is also being examined as a criminal matter, adding that those who attempted to impose unilateral solutions ultimately brought the Commission into a situation in which its work has become impossible.
According to Ošap Gaćanović, Bećirović’s attempt to transform a Dayton institution into an administrative organization that would operate without the consent of Republika Srpska was unlawful, meaningless and contrary to the BiH Constitution.
She said the developments also represented an answer to part of the opposition in Republika Srpska, which, in her view, criticized Cvijanović in the media without sufficiently understanding the substance of the dispute and the processes taking place within the Commission.
Ošap Gaćanović argued that those criticisms had proved short-sighted and that, instead of political accusations, it would have been better to wait and see what consequences unilateral decisions would produce.
“Cvijanović handled the process of protecting Republika Srpska’s position in the Commission very well. She responded institutionally and in a timely manner, and we coordinated our efforts to inform all relevant parties about the irregularities and the unilateral solution. Through constitutional powers and institutional procedures, she brought Bećirović’s process to the point of absurdity, where it ultimately undermined itself,” Ošap Gaćanović said.
She said their position had been clear from the outset and remained unchanged: Republika Srpska is one of the parties whose participation is embedded in the Dayton framework governing the institution, and its position cannot be circumvented through political or administrative arrangements, nor through what she described as manipulation involving foreign experts or UN agencies.
“As we have already told the public, there will be no Commission if Republika Srpska, one of its Dayton founders, is not represented in it. Komšić’s statements today have only further confirmed the justification of everything we have done to protect and strengthen Republika Srpska’s position within this institution,” Ošap Gaćanović said.
BiH Presidency member Željko Komšić had previously said that Bećirović’s actions had resulted in a situation in which the Commission to Preserve National Monuments no longer functions.
Source: RTRS
