MEMBER OF PRESIDENCY BIH BEĆIROVIĆ: “OPENING OF NEGOTIATIONS DOES NOT MEAN DEPARTURE OF OHR”

SARAJEVO, MARCH 15 (ONASA) – Regarding the statements of certain politicians about the relocation of the institution of the High Representative after the opening of the negotiation process, the member of the BiH Presidency, Denis Bećirović, spoke out.
He alleges that “statements by certain politicians that “the opening of the negotiation process basically means the removal of the institution of the High Representative from Bosnia and Herzegovina” have no basis in the Dayton Peace Agreement”.
– These are irresponsible and anti-Dayton messages with incalculably dangerous consequences for peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. The Dayton Peace Agreement is not a buffet from which some politicians can take what they want and discard what they don’t. It is an international agreement that must be fully respected. I call on the politicians who are talking about closing the OHR to start telling their political allies that it is time to close it and give up anti-Dayton, anti-constitutional and separatist politics, says Bećirović.
He adds that “the European integration path of Bosnia and Herzegovina should, among other things, result in the political, economic and institutional stabilization of the Bosnian society and state and the development of civil society”.
– The opening of negotiations with the European Union (EU) strengthens the process of democratization of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, the negotiation processes should result in the stabilization and strengthening of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the national and international level. In order to close the Office of the High Representative in BiH, it is not enough to “start negotiations”, but it is necessary to fulfill the previously established requirements, that is, it is necessary to implement the so-called Program 5+2. By starting the negotiation process with the EU, Bosnia and Herzegovina did not automatically fulfill all the previously accepted requirements contained in the 5+2 Program, necessary for the closure of the Office of the High Representative. Therefore, any action contrary to the previously accepted 5+2 Program represents a deviation from the principle of legal certainty, which destabilizes the Bosnian society and the state, states Bećirović and adds:
– Attempts to challenge and collapse the institution of the High Representative, as well as the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are part of a detailed plan whose ultimate goal is the elimination of all institutions responsible for preserving peace, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only when the previously defined conditions necessary for the relocation or closure of the OHR are met, and when the Steering Committee of the Peace Implementation Council positively assesses the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on full respect for the Dayton Peace Agreement and the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, can we talk about closure of the OHR office in Bosnia and Herzegovina.