prijava
SARAJEVO, October 23 (FENA) - BiH Minister of Security, Dragan Mektić, warned today that there are no instruments to effectively tackle the current migrant crisis, stressing that BiH is functioning on the basis of consensus and coordination, and that local authorities do not respect decisions of entity or state authorities.
"I think we are not able to cope with any serious crisis given the structure and functioning of BiH," Mektić said at a press conference in Sarajevo, stating that he is not running away from responsibility, but there are no instruments that what has been agreed is respected and implemented locally.
Referring to key obstacles in addressing the current situation regarding illegal migration, the Minister of Security has "drawn a parallel" in how these issues are addressed in neighboring countries, where there are centralized decision-making bodies, which are then implemented at lower levels of government.
In this context, he recalled that local authorities did not want to assign any location where migrants could be accommodated, illustrating this with the decisions of municipal councils that rejected the possibility of placing migrant center in their area.
Mektić said the solution to the problem is realization of the agreement, reminding that ten million euros of operational funds are "on hold" due to the lack of will or resistance at the local level to have migrant reception centers placed in their area (decisions of Vogošća Municipal Council related to the barracks in Semizovac, Doboj Istok Municipal Council)
"We are currently renting Bira, Sedra, Miral and it costs tens of thousands of euros and BiH has funded all this," said the BiH Minister of Security, recalling that millions of euros have been invested so far in renovation of these facilities.
According to Mektić, five or six locations were identified that could be quickly adapted, but no local community allowed to enter these facilities.
“BiH Council of Ministers of BiH made a decision related to one location in Velika Kladuša, and then the Municipal Council of Velika Kladuša holds its session and decides: "We annul the decision of the Council of Ministers of BiH" Mektić specified, urging the Una-Sana Canton to identify a state-owned location for accommodating migrants, as well as other relevant authorities in BiH to meet their obligations.
In order to keep the situation under control, Mektić believes that it is necessary to respect the decisions of the Operational Staff at the state level with strictly defined measures, operators and deadline. This is the way to tackle the current situation.
(FENA) A. B.
