KONAKOVIĆ'S LOBBYING AGREEMENT IN VIOLATION OF BOTH BiH AND U.S. LAWS

EAST SARAJEVO, APRIL 8 /SRNA/ - The Serbian member and Chairwoman of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, said today that there could be numerous legal violations regarding the lobbying agreement signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers, Elmedin Konaković, both under BiH and U.S. legislation.

"That is because it must be clear how funds are raised, how people are registered, and whether it concerns a non-governmental organization or a company. We have studied this because we employ people in the U.S. and are familiar with the procedure, and we know how much responsibility is required over time to ensure they can justify their activities and actions," Cvijanović said.

According to her, it is also problematic that Konaković does not represent BiH, as he was not authorized by any institution, including the BiH Presidency, which is responsible for foreign policy, nor the Council of Ministers, which should authorize the minister or ministry to sign agreements.

"No one is informed about these activities. He independently decided to engage in legal matters indirectly, without fulfilling the necessary prerequisites. We will make sure there is work for investigative bodies, because this cannot be done according to one's discretion and will," Cvijanović emphasized at a press conference in East Sarajevo.

She also said she would seek to inform the public in the U.S.A., as certain media outlets have already published articles that put some high-ranking officials in an awkward situation, suggesting that lobbying for BiH could be achieved through them at the White House.

"That would mean someone is using their high position in such an important institution to achieve your political goals, and that is scandalous to me. You cannot play with such things; you can't say we hired this or that company, where the director is this person, who is related to someone, implying that you have a communication channel, putting someone in an awkward position, and leading the public to think that they are abusing their position to carry out someone else's lobbying activities," Cvijanović emphasized.

According to her, this is not how it should be done, even though the media in Sarajevo are eager to generate news, and Konaković wants to present himself as someone among the Bosniaks who is doing something, while others are sitting with their arms crossed.

"You can't do that. Stop privatizing other countries' institutions when you've already privatized your own. You've privatized the institutions in BiH, and now you want to do the same in the EU and the U.S.A. This is not how things are done, and it carries criminal liability if you imply that someone could be in a position to abuse their official position to accommodate your political goals," emphasized the Chairwoman of the BiH Presidency.

She says that whatever /agreement/ Konaković has concluded, even if it is all a correct legal matter, he did not get consent to say that this is lobbying for BiH.

"And this was also pointed out by the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers /Borjana Krišto/, who highlighted the position of the Croatian people. If the three nations agree and define the goals there, then that is lobbying for BiH, but anything else is partial. Don’t sell smoke by claiming to do something on behalf of the country when you're not!" emphasized Cvijanović.

The Serbian member also pointed out that politicians from Sarajevo need to get rid of a habit of abusing institutions and procedures, as this undermines their credibility and authority, which is why no one takes them seriously, even when they claim they "protect the state to preserve it regardless of what it is."

"No! It should be protected to remain normal, credible, and not in conflict with its neighbors. You have a foreign trade partner like Croatia, but since Croatia hasn’t said that /President of Republika Srpska/ Milorad Dodik should be arrested and sanctioned, you turn around and attack Croatia. Is that normal?" asked Cvijanović.

She also reminded of earlier demands made by the Bosniak member of the Presidency, Denis Bećirović, from the time when he was in Parliament, when he called on Montenegro to return what had been granted to it by a communist decree.

"These are not normal things, and I don’t want to be part of that," Cvijanović said.