English
03.07.2025
15:29:00
KOVAČEVIĆ: OPPOSITION SPEAKING ON MIGRANTS NOT BEING UNDER REPUBLIKA SRPSKA’S JURISDICTION, ACCORDING TO SARAJEVO NARRATIVE, IS SAD

BANJALUKA, JULY 3 /SRNA/ – Serb deputy in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Radovan Kovačević says there is a serious and official proposal and threat to send a certain number of security-threathening migrants from the United Kingdom to BiH and Srpska, emphasizing that it is crucial for relevant Srpska and BiH institutions to take a stance on this issue, and that Srpska opposition representatives are claiming, according to the Sarajevo narrative, that migrants allegedly do n
Kovačević explained that opposition members in the National Assembly spoke about competencies, even though the President of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, clearly stated in his introductory remarks on the proposed declaration rejecting the UK and EU initiative to establish migrant centres in BiH that migration is indeed under BiH’s jurisdiction, but that doesn’t mean Srpska cannot have its own positions on the matter. "Despite this, opposition representatives still felt the need to emphasize that migration is not under Srpska's jurisdiction. I must remind everyone that I, along with my fellow deputies from the Srpska National Assembly, sit in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly precisely because it consists of representatives from various assemblies, including the National Assembly of Republika Srpska. Everything under BiH’s jurisdiction, and everything we may vote on in Parliament, is something the National Assembly of Srpska should also express a position on, providing us, as their representatives, with clear guidelines on what to advocate for," Kovačević stated at a press conference in Banja Luka. He said it was both "ugly and sad" to hear opposition members repeating Sarajevo's narrative that certain matters do not fall under Republika Srpska’s jurisdiction. "Unfortunately, I didn’t hear them object when we, in Parliament, discuss issues related to culture, agriculture, social welfare, or healthcare - they don’t stand up then and say it’s not BiH’s jurisdiction. They remain silent! But they’re always quick to lecture about what supposedly isn’t Srpska’s jurisdiction. It is our jurisdiction as representatives of Republika Srpska, tasked with presenting Srpska’s positions," Kovačević stressed. He stated that the opposition could be heard referring to certain well-known agreements regarding the issue of migration and the migrant crisis. "But it seems as though they deliberately chose not to understand the point of this declaration and the current topic at hand," Kovačević said. He has emphasized there is official information from the United Kingdom, reported by all the most relevant media outlets in that country and publicly confirmed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, indicating their intention to send a certain number of security-risk migrants - individuals who were members of terrorist organisations or various militant, paramilitary, or criminal groups - to BiH and Republika Srpska. "People openly talked about this, and yet we hear some voices here claiming this is a fabricated topic!?" Kovačević stressed. He has reminded that these are security-threatening individuals from Iran and Somalia, to whom the United Kingdom cannot grant asylum and cannot deport back to their home countries, so they are seeking alternative locations for them. “BiH and Republika Srpska were chosen as one of the alternative locations,. Are we supposed to remain silent about that and not speak up!?” Kovačević asked. He thanked the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, and the National Assembly of Srpska for bringing up this topic and clearly stating their position. “I call on the MPs to support this declaration and to allow us, the representatives of Republika Srpska and its institutions, including the National Assembly, to clearly present Srpska’s position and firmly state that security-risk individuals from Iran, Somalia, or any other country with such plans cannot be sent to Srpska and BiH. This is something extremely important, and we must finally stop cheap politicking on such serious matters that can significantly impact the quality of life and safety of Srpska’s residents, and stop trying to discredit them in such a manner,” Kovačević said. Responding to a question about the statement from the British Embassy in BiH, denying having any discussions with BiH officials on the mentioned topic, Kovačević reiterated the fact that it was the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who publicly spoke about the plan to find a location for relocating a certain number of migrants who pose a security threat, specifically mentioning BiH in that context. “Then we have a statement from the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers, one of the Bosniak leaders, Elmedin Konaković, who said that the role of the United Kingdom in the coming period would be much more significant. Furthermore, there was a meeting between certain political leaders, including opposition party leaders from Srpska, with the UK Foreign Minister, David Lammy. According to available information, they discussed EU integration with that minister,” Kovačević said. He stated that such actions do not inspire confidence, comparing it to a hypothetical situation in which, for example, someone in 1993 informed the public that they had discussed the expansion of Yugoslavia with Slovenia. “In other words, for a country that openly campaigned against the EU, held a referendum, and left the EU, to now be discussing EU integration hardly seems trustworthy or credible. That raises certain doubts, which is why we are now calling on opposition representatives to openly say what they talked about with the foreign minister and whether they perhaps discussed this specific issue,” Kovačević said. Answering further questions, Kovačević stated that there was no official offer from anyone to the Americans regarding migrants. He explained that the only statement on this matter came from the President of Srpska, who said there is a significant difference between the migrants the UK wants to send and those from the US, emphasizing that the latter involve a completely different group of people who are not Islamists or members of terrorist organisations. “There is a big difference there. However, what has also been recorded as an attempt is that we had opposition representatives who insisted on involving the US in this issue as well. But the US has never mentioned BiH in any context regarding this matter, whereas the UK has,” Kovačević said.
English
8 hours ago

REFERENDUM ON BiH COURT VERDICT AND CEC DECISION ON OCTOBER 18 OR 25
BANJA LUKA, August 20 /SRNA/ - The referendum regarding the verdict of the Court of BiH and the decision of the Central Election Commission to revoke...
17 hours ago

GALIJAŠEVIĆ: THERE ARE 100 WAHHABI SETTLEMENTS IN BiH
SARAJEVO, AUGUST 20 /SRNA/ - Security expert Dževad Galijašević believes that Bosniak society is "Islamist radicalized and that some of its segments a...
19 hours ago

UNCONSTITUTIONAL BUDGET PROPOSAL SET BY KOMŠIĆ AND BEĆIROVIĆ
SARAJEVO, AUGUST 20 /SRNA/ – The head of the SNSD Club in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Sanja Vulić stated that the b...
19 hours ago

KOMŠIĆ AND BEĆIROVIĆ'S BUDGET PROPOSAL SHOULD NOT EVEN BE CONSIDERED
SARAJEVO, AUGUST 20 /SRNA/ – SNSD MP in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Milorad Kojić, believes that the budget propos...
20 hours ago

REFERENDUM IN SRPSKA AS SUPPORT FOR DODIK'S SOVEREIGNIST POLICY
PALE, AUGUST 20 /SRNA/ – Former Speaker of the National Assembly of Srpska Dragan Kalinić told SRNA that the verdict against President Milorad Dodik r...
1 day ago

KALABUKHOV: GREAT POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPING COOPERATION BETWEEN TREBINJE AND RUSSIAN CITIES
TREBINJE, August 19 /SRNA/ - Ambassador of the Russian Federation to BiH Igor Kalabukhov said today that there is great potential for developing coope...