News in English     | 17.06.2020. 12:20 |

Salkić: Systemic discrimination against Bosniaks in the entity of RS

FENA Press release

BANJA LUKA, June 17 (FENA) - Vice President of the RS entity Ramiz Salkić pointed out today that Bosniaks and Croats, based on the current capacity of the RS Council of Peoples, do not have the opportunity to protect their interests in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Reacting to the statement of Milorad Dodik, a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the ranks of the Serb people, who said yesterday that, "we have to do everything in our power to abolish the RS Council of Peoples", Salkić said that the establishment of the RS Council of Peoples with current capacity has been a mockery of the decision of the Court of BiH on the constituent status of the peoples in BiH from 2000, on the entire territory of the state, by the then High Representative Wolfgang Petrich and the so-called "Alliance for Change".

He pointed out that with such implementation of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosniaks and Croats were left in the jaws of Greater Serbia politics, without mechanisms to protect and secure protection through the adoption of laws and other acts in the legislative bodies of the entities.

He stressed that the implementation of this decision began 18 years ago, and that it was implemented only formally, but not essentially, the Vice President said.

“This is confirmed by the current situation with the Bosniak people in this entity, who are subject to systemic discrimination in all areas of life. We have apartheid in the educational process, the denial of the Bosnian language, textbooks that are mono-ethnic and glorify war criminals, school names and iconography, which completely integrate Christian Orthodoxy into the educational process. Bosniaks and Croats are forced to adhere to such an educational process because they do not have mechanisms through the process of passing laws and decisions to change the situation,” stressed Salkić.  

He says that Article 97 of the RS Constitution has been constantly violated, which states that "the constituent peoples and the group of others nations would be proportionally represented in public institutions in the Republika Srpska."

“Violation of this article has led to the situation that today we have almost no Bosniaks and Croats in the entity bodies, public institutions, agencies and other levels of organizing. The manner of making decisions in the Constitutional Court of the entity, which works according to the Rules of Procedure which is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the entity and the provisions of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the entity of the RS, also contributes to this situation,” Salkić added.

“Accomplices to the current situation for Bosniaks and Croats in this entity, in addition to those who are most responsible, and that is the overall policy of the Bosnian Serbs, are the then and all subsequent high representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also the then so-called government of the 'Alliance for Change', which gave support to such ridiculous constitutional amendments,” said Vice President Salkić.

He pointed out that it is high time to change this situation and to match the competencies of the Council of Peoples of the RS with the House of Peoples of the FBiH, but also to equal the competencies of the president and vice president in both entities.

Salkić stated that this situation could be changed by asking the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess the compliance of the entity Constitution with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the context of implementing decision U-5/98 on the constituent status of the peoples.

“As the Vice President of the entity, I do not have the power to be an authorized applicant on this issue, but if I had the opportunity, I would have raised this issue before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina a long time ago, without any political calculations.

Without resolving the systemic rights of Bosniaks and Croats in this entity, we will not be able to survive in this part of BiH, despite investments in the reconstruction of our homes, infrastructure and other facilities necessary for everyday life, because the fundamental issues have not been resolved. The fundamental and basic issue is equal rights and equal opportunities, equal access to all institutions through employment, representation and the freedom of exercising civil rights,” he said.

Today, but also for the last 20 years, Bosniaks and Croats graduating from high schools and universities, he says, are unable to find employment in their places of residence, but must move outside their municipalities and work in the FBiH or abroad, which represents ethnic cleaning in this territory but in the time of peace.

“The situation in this entity is best illustrated by the data that only a few percent of Bosniaks are employed in the RS Ministry of Interior, and in other institutions the representation is around one percent or below one percent.

This speaks volumes about our rights, but also of the possibilities to exercise those rights, to ensure the representation, and thus the existence and survival in this area for ​​thousands of Bosniak and Croat families. The policy of Bosnian Serbs is clear. This policy is against the return and stay of Bosniaks and Croats in this part of BiH. The dilemma remains: what is the policy of others who decide what happens to this country,” it is stated in the reaction of Vice President Salkić.

(FENA) S. R.

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