VRANJEŠ APPEALS TO BiH PRESIDENCY OVER KONAKOVIĆ’S ILLEGAL AND DISCRIMINATORY CONDUCT

BELGRADE, OCTOBER 30 /SRNA/ – BiH Ambassador to Serbia, Aleksandar Vranješ, told SRNA that he had appealed to the Presidency of BiH, seeking protection for the lawful performance of duties, rights and dignity of Serb employees over unlawful conduct, mobbing, ethnic discrimination and the misuse of civil servants for political purposes by Elmedin Konaković, the outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Council of Ministers.

Vranješ said he had submitted information to the Presidency of BiH on all Konaković`s unlawful actions. He explained that Konaković had never sent the Embassy of BiH in Belgrade an official decision ordering the employees` return. Instead, in his first official document, he had summoned Technical Secretary Sanja Kusmuk, driver Marko Kusmuk and civil servant Oliver Mićić to the Ministry’s headquarters for consultations. He had done the same in a second document addressed to employees Ranka Ujić and Slađana Cvijović.

He pointed out that Konaković`s actions had also jeopardised the conduct of elections at the Embassy in Belgrade, since some of the employees who had been "recalled" were members of the previously appointed polling board, therefore he also informed the Central Election Commission of BiH aboit it.

"I informed the Ministry`s headquarters that the Embassy of BiH in Belgrade had been prevented from carrying out its legally prescribed activities. On that occasion, I also drew attention to the Minister of Foreign Affairs` unlawful and discriminatory actions aimed at preventing Embassy employees of exclusively Serb ethnic background from performing their duties. Among other things, the minister prevented the first secretary, the only remaining civil servant at the Embassy of BiH in Belgrade authorised to collect biometric data, from working," Vranješ said.

He explained that the travel orders issued to all employees for official travel for "consultations" had expired on October 15. Therefore, there had been no need to extend their official travel indefinitely, as requested by Konaković. All employees who were on official travel had been informed by email that they were required to report to their workplaces at the Embassy in Belgrade on October 16.

"I refused to become part of unlawful actions, because the wording `consultations until further notice`, without clear instructions on extending the validity of travel orders, would have placed me in a position where I would have been unlawfully keeping employees on official travel," Vranješ explained.

Vranješ stressed that, under Article 15, Paragraph 1 of the applicable Rulebook on Internal Organisation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diplomatic and Consular Missions of BiH, the head of the diplomatic and consular mission is the only person authorised to manage the Embassy. Article 19 stipulates that the head of a diplomatic and consular mission organises, directs and coordinates its work, assigns duties and establishes work plans for individual staff members, maintains discipline, and monitors, directs and evaluates employees` performance.

He said that, in conversations with Serb employees of the Embassy of BiH in Belgrade, he had been informed that during their official stay at the Ministry`s headquarters, they had attended only one meeting, with Konaković, held on 2 October, lasting approximately 30 minutes.

"The employees informed me that, during the meeting, Konaković told them that he had made the decision solely to send a political message to the host country because, as he stated, disagreement with the host country`s organisation of General Ratko Mladić`s funeral," Vranješ said.

Vranješ said he had been informed by the Serb employees of the Embassy that, on October 23, the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs had again invited them to a meeting at the Ministry's headquarters. However, in accordance with the Rulebook on Internal Organisation, he had not authorised them to leave the host country.

"I made that decision in order to protect the lawful operation of the Embassy, as well as to protect Serb employees of the Embassy of BiH in Belgrade from unequivocal ethnic discrimination, the misuse of civil servants and employees for political purposes, and the obvious mobbing to which they are being subjected by the Minister of Foreign Affairs," Vranješ emphasised.

Vranješ stated that, through his declaration that he would reduce bilateral relations with Serbia to the lowest possible level and withdraw all diplomatic personnel except the ambassador, Konaković had demonstrated his intention to usurp the Presidency of BiH`s authority over the conduct of foreign policy, as established by Article V of the Constitution of BiH.