ABUSE OF FOREIGN MINISTRY SO EXTENSIVE IT CANNOT BE FULLY LISTED, SPECIAL ATTENTION NEEDED IN FUTURE

BANJA LUKA, JULY 23 /SRNA/ – Serb BiH Presidency member Željka Cvijanović says that special attention will have to be paid to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Ministers in the future as the extent of alleged abuses is so great that it cannot be fully listed.

Cvijanović said the ministry operates in an incredible manner, citing as an example that if officials do not approve of an ambassador because /s/he is a Serb, even though the Presidency appointed him/her at the proposal of the Serb member, they simply bypass him/her.

"They send instructions on their own or vote independently at certain forums and during decision-making processes, for example within the EU or similar organizations," Cvijanović explained to Glas Srpske.

On the other hand, she added, if an ambassador is someone who is politically aligned with them or with whom they have national or ethnic ties, they again bypass the BiH Presidency and coordinate positions directly with that individual.

"The scale of the abuses is so extensive that it cannot even be fully listed. I would not go into how all of this will be resolved in the future, but this is definitely one of the most problematic areas in the country," she stressed.

Cvijanović stressed that the ministry has undermined its own credibility, adding that conversations with people around the world show they are now well aware of what is happening.

"I personally made an effort to inform them every time we became aware of an abuse. Whenever we saw that voting in an international organisation had taken place outside the prescribed procedures, I would send letters with a clear message: this is not an agreed position of BiH, this is not the position of Republika Srpska, the minister did not seek the Presidency's consent for this," she said.

Because of it, she says, many foreign officials today are seriously cautious when dealing with representatives of that ministry.

"Regardless of the fact that they can travel around the world and pose for photographs, the essence and background of their activities have been completely understood," Cvijanović said.

She also stressed that official Sarajevo is a master at continually presenting local issues, whether real or fabricated, to internationals, expecting them to deal with those matters.

"We have reached the absurd situation where, at conferences devoted to women's rights and the role of women in politics, people suddenly start talking about Milorad Dodik, the SNSD, and Republika Srpska. It is truly unbelievable, as if they have no other topic. This clearly shows that they are not capable of keeping pace with the real global issues, messages, and energy expected of them," Cvijanović said.