CVIJANOVIĆ: FOREIGN MEMBERS SHOWN DOUBTS IN COMMISSION'S WORK

BANJA LUKA, September 25 /SRNA/ - Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović said that the foreign members had shown doubts about the work of the BiH Commission for Preservation of National Monuments, which no longer even exists, and had left it on their own initiative.

Cvijanović said that two foreign members who had been illegally appointed to the Commission had withdrawn on their own initiative, thereby showing that they were aware that a veto had been exercised in the National Assembly and that there had been a great deal of politicization of the issue. She stressed that she had written to UNESCO about this several times, and that they themselves had previously warned that they did not want their members, in general, to deal with issues such as urban planning, the granting of certain permits, planning documents or similar matters. She stressed that the Commission cannot be allowed to deal with anything outside its jurisdiction. "Slowly, stone by stone, we are building this path. Several steps were planned, and we have reached the point where doubts emerged where they should have emerged, because these people should not participate in the work of this commission, but it has been misused," Cvijanović told reporters in Banja Luka. She added that over the years the Commission had arrogated to itself powers that had never been envisaged under Annex 8 of the Dayton Peace Agreement, because it is precisely defined what constitutes the designation of national monuments. "So, we are slowly bringing this matter to an end. It can be done by agreement, it can be done with everyone represented, with all of us taking care of it, but it cannot be the case that any national monument is usurped or that anything belonging to the religious or other identity of any people is usurped," Cvijanović told reporters in Banja Luka.