BOSNIAK CAUCUS SEEKS TO SIDELINE SERBS AND CROATS IN DECISION-MAKING

SARAJEVO, APRIL 8 /SRNA/ – Nikola Špirić, deputy chairperson of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, said that House Chairperson Kemal Ademović, with the support of the opposition from Republika Srpska, has acted outside the Constitution of BiH and the Rules of Procedure of the House, positioning himself as the head of the opposition and launching, as he put it, a free pre-election campaign in the House of Peoples.

"We have nothing against that, except that we will not discuss anything that is not the result of agreement and consensus within the Collegium," Špirić told SRNA. He noted that the Collegium can at least agree on the date of a session if it cannot agree on the agenda. Commenting on claims by delegates at today's session that criminal charges should be filed against those who did not attend the session, Špirić said it is a futile effort to turn the House of Peoples first into a police station, and then into a court and prosecutor's office. "The sooner they return to the table to talk and negotiate, the better it will be for everyone," Špirić noted. He reminded that the Bosniak Club in the House of Peoples blocked its work for nine months last year, stressing that they seek to turn Serbs and Croats into an audience rather than decision-makers. "That is the key issue we are fighting against," Špirić emphasized. Speaking about the situation in the Serb Club in the House of Peoples, Špirić said the situation is clear, namely that the opposition from Republika Srpska is being guided by House Chair Kemal Ademović and the Bosniak Club. "They have, unintentionally, turned the House of Peoples into a non-governmental organization," Špirić concluded.