prijava
SARAJEVO, November 18 (FENA) – Sarajevo Canton (SC) and nine municipalities that belong to it will not allow opening of new migrant camps unless they are part of a systemic solution for the entire state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was assessed at today's emergency session of the SC Government on the topic of the migrant crisis, attended by all nine municipality mayors in the Sarajevo Canton, in addition to members of the Government.
“Sarajevo Canton and municipalities within SC jointly stated that they will not allow opening of new migrant camps unless they are part of the solution for the whole BiH. It is responsibility of the state and it has to deal with something that much stronger states have a hard time coping with,” Sarajevo Canton Prime Minister Edin Forto said after the end of the session of the SC government, warning that one or two cantons cannot be left to deal with such a complex issue.
He added that the way cantonal level of government treats the migrant crisis will greatly determine the quality of life of citizens in the coming period, recalling the unsatisfactory way of managing the migrant crisis from competent state-level institutions, without a clear vision of how the entire country will cope with this problem.
At the emergency session of the SC Government, the relevant conclusions of the Cantonal Minister of Labor, Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees, Malik Garibija, were made, insisting on the responsibility of the state level government for issues related to the migrant crisis.
According to the adopted conclusions, the Government of SC and the mayors of all nine municipalities of SC want the Council of Ministers of BiH and state institutions, as directly responsible and exclusively competent for the issue of migrants, to take responsibility for the overall management of the migrant crisis, acting in consultation with lower levels of government, which includes stronger control of the eastern border to reduce the influx of migrants, similar to EU countries.
They further insist that the issue of migrant accommodation be addressed on a planned basis, by creating more camps with a maximum capacity of up to 200 people across BiH, including both entities, the Brčko District of BiH and all ten cantons in the FBiH, and emphasize their readiness to be part of such a solution.
At the same time, participants of the emergency session rejected ad-hoc solutions that envisage large camps in one or more local communities, thus complicating the humanitarian and security situation.
Among other things, it was concluded that SC and all nine municipalities will continue to provide humanitarian health and safety protection for migrants and citizens in contact with migrants in accordance with their own capacities, which also includes assistance to Hadžići municipality in dealing with consequences of the migrant crisis.
Commenting on the security aspect of the migrant crisis, Sarajevo Canton Interior Minister Admir Katica stressed the readiness of the police structure to respond to its obligations, including preventive action and activities.
The repercussions of the migrant crisis were also pointed out by Hadžići Mayor Hamdo Ejubović, a municipality where a temporary reception center with about 750 migrants ('Ušivak') is placed, urging the BiH Council of Ministers and the Federation of BiH to act in accordance with the presented conclusions, "because no one else will control the crisis otherwise, and then we are all in big trouble together."
(FENA) A. B.
