The stopping of the government-organised migrant convoy heading toward a refugee centre in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton was not a coup attempt, according to state Defence Minister, Marina Pendes, referring to an earlier statement by the Security Minister.
Bosnia did not adequately prepare for the arrival of migrants and refugees, she said.
Last Friday, state institutions had organized the transport of some 270 migrants, who had arrived in Sarajevo after crossing the border into Bosnia on their route towards Western Europe, toward an asylum centre in Salakovac, in the Mostar area.
But police officers of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK) Interior Ministry stopped the buses, insisting they return to Sarajevo.
By the end of the day, the buses had arrived at their destination, but the developments had caused outrage among state officials.
Security Minister Dragan Mektic said the HNK Interior Ministry was informed of the migrant convoy a day earlier, therefore the commissioner who ordered the interception of the buses had blocked the implementation of a decision made by state-level institutions. He said the stopping of the busses was in line with a “coup”.
“I would not like to comment on the claims by Minister Mektic. I think it was not a coup,” Defence Minister Pendes told N1 on Wednesday.
“The Council of Ministers cannot be the only one tending to this problem. The CoM needs to coordinate on this. All the relevant institutions need to work on the problem, from the municipal to the state level,” Pendes said.
The CoM has adopted the draft of a plan on how institutions need to define their priorities and activities regarding the issue. An operational body tasked exclusively with the migrant issue was formed, which will hold a meeting on Friday to analyze the migrant and refugee situation, Pendes said, adding that she thinks the Foreign Affairs Ministry should write to the EU regarding the problem.
Pendes also reacted to recent calls for Bosnia's Armed Forces to be mobilised to protect the border, saying that would not legally be possible.
“The job of the Armed Forces is not to be at the border. For this, the existing police force need to be used,” Pendes said.
The Defence Minister said she thinks that the arrival of migrants needs to be prevented, and that the Security Minister should be asked why this is not done.
Pendes also spoke of Bosnia's path toward NATO membership, saying she expects NATO's annual programme for Bosnia to be implemented by next month.
“Most of the (NATO) countries have understood that we did a lot in regard to the registration of (military) property, that we participate in peace missions,” she pointed out.
Military property is owned by the state according to a Constitutional Court decision, and it can only be registered to Bosnia and Herzegovina, she said.
Bosnia's Armed forces need to be supported, Pendes said, especially in the coming months, when forest fires are expected. She warned that members of the Armed Forces need raises in their salaries, as soldiers are leaving.
