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SARAJEVO, April 19 (FENA) - A detailed analysis of the responses received about the ethnic representation of employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina testify to a significant imbalance to the detriment of the Bosniak people, which is reflected in the fact that there are 783 employees from that people in positions in the state institutions less than what is due to them according to the law and the Constitution.
At the press conference today, a member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šemsudin Mehmedović, warned about this, referring to the issue of the ethnic structure of the leadership, state police officers and employees in the institutions of BiH and compliance with legal provisions on appropriate ethnic representation.
He recalled that at the end of January, he asked 75 state institutions to provide him with data on national representation.
The claims that come from certain representatives of the European Parliament (EP), official institutions of the Republic of Croatia and the HDZ BiH that Croats are majorized and unequal in BiH in terms of political representation are pure falsehood and fiction," said Mehmedović.
At the same time, he pointed out that "the statements of officials from the Republic of Serbia and the RS entity are not true either claiming that the Serbs are threatened by the unitarization allegedly carried out by the Bosniaks".
"Those who are unequal and majorized when it comes to representation at the state level of Bosnia and Herzegovina are in fact Bosniaks and there are 783 fewer of them than the law and the Constitution prescribe and their representation is unbalanced in 58 out of 71 state institutions," explained said Mehmedović, referring to the institutions which submitted the requested data.
He underlined that in a complex country such as BiH, the laws clearly and unambiguously prescribe that the appropriate representation of civil servants and employees must be ensured in the institutions of BiH in accordance with the ethnic structure of the population, and according to the last census (from 2013) as specified by the Law on administration (Article 7).
He added that this provision stipulates that the most important principle in the work of the civil service is the principle of legality, which implies that all institutions must perform their work in accordance with the law.
"The Bosniaks are in a 'huge deficit' for almost 800 positions, but at the same time, there are 423 more Serbs and 478 more Croats are employed than the number that belongs to them," stated Mehmedović, noting that the situation is particularly worrying in terms of management positions, and it is especially noticeable in the ministries of justice, foreign trade and economic relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Communications Regulatory Agency, the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data, etc.
Referring to the state of affairs in this regard, Mehmedović stated that the Air Navigation Services Agency - BHANSA is one of the institutions that has not submitted any response and which currently employs almost 500 people, with the remark that "that way they leave room for doubt why they did not do it and what, in fact, are they hiding".
In this context, he called to account all individuals in the system who, by their actions and inaction, violated the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina, singling out as the most responsible the State Service Agency, and especially the holders of managerial positions of "Bosniak nationality, who, quite often, exist in the institutions as nothing but extras".
"We now know that the situation is alarming and we must stop this trend immediately. All institutions must immediately stop employment to the detriment of any ethnic group," said Mehmedović.
He announced that he will continue to insist on improving the said situation and that he will again demand that the BiH Parliament take a stand and that all institutions commit to respect the law, and submit reports on the ethnic representation of employees every three months, as stipulated by the Law on Parliamentary Oversight.
(FENA) S. R.
