prijava
TUZLA, November 18 (FENA) - Mayor of the City of Tuzla, Jasmin Imamović sent out today a clear and direct message to the Government of the Federation of BiH from the Tuzla City Administration that it opposes the opening of a migrant center in Tuzla's neighborhood of Ljubače in an abandoned military barracks.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina has not caused this major migrant crisis in any way. It is interesting that refugees come to BiH from Greece, which is in the European Union, and then the EU does not allow them to pass through Bosnia and Herzegovina and enter EI again in order to go where actually want to be. Most migrants have been stopped in Bihać and the Una-Sana canton, and people there suffer greatly,” says Tuzla Mayor Jasmin Imamović.
He says that there have been a number of failures by state competent authorities on border protection. Also, migrants are brought in by human smugglers. Smugglers are making big money at the expense of migrants. We still do not see the competent authorities charging or convicting anyone of human trafficking. Bosnia and Herzegovina is slowly turning into a buffer zone. These people are migrants, they are not refugees,” Imamović warned.
He also pointed out the fact that the media is increasingly talking about how Bosnians were once refugees, but he underlines that this situation cannot be compared to that of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.
“Bosnians came as refugees fleeing mass killings. Also, it was a negligible number of people. These are now people coming from two continents where hundreds of millions of people live. The state and entity governments have not had an adequate response to this crisis so far, and we do not see police activity. These people move more freely than we do,” Imamović pointed out.
Mayor of Tuzla says that the state and FBiH authorities have violated Article 4, paragraph 6 of the European Charter on Local Self-Government by deciding to assign the barracks in Ljubače to the BiH Council of Ministers.
“Nobody has consulted us before making a decision that directly concerns local citizens. I find that they have consciously avoided it and have secretly made the decision. This decision leads to harassment of all Tuzla citizens. We demand that such a decision of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina be repealed,” it was requested today at the session of the Tuzla City Council.
Also, we have specifically agreed on the decision that the migrant center must be located in a place outside local, populated communities.
“We are a humane country and humane people. We want to help migrants, but not in a way that impedes the lives of the local population,” said Tuzla Mayor Jasmin Imamović.
(FENA) S. R.
