Security minister committed a coup, Mostar Mayor says

Speaking for N1, Beslic commented the last week's transport of migrants from Sarajevo to a refugee centre located in the southern part of the country, on territory under the administrative rule of Mostar, the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC). The decision to transfer the migrants from a park in Bosnia's capital Sarajevo to the refugee centre was passed by the Security Ministry.

“I, as the mayor, never received a document about migrants in Mostar, which leads to a question how the decisions are made,” said Beslic.

A convoy carrying nearly 300 migrants was prevented from entering the HNC territory for a few hours, an order of the HNC Police Commissioner Ilija Lasic who, as he later explained, ordered a temporary halt to prevent unrests and secure a safe arrival of migrants in Salakovac refugee centre.

The commissioner's decision triggered a series of reactions including the one of Security Minister Mektic, who accused Lasic of committing a coup.

“Mektic said it was a coup, and it was actually him who committed a coup if you read the Constitution of the Federation (of Bosnia and Herzegovina), which says that security situation of every canton falls under the jurisdiction of cantons,” added Beslic.