Bosnia’s Presidency member Mladen Ivanic said Bosnia and Herzegovina is unable to politically sustain the present number of migrants. They are not welcome in any environment and this has nothing to do with their nationality or anything of the sort.

“Many people in Bosnian institutions are unaware of the problem our country faces. The only realistic solution for this is better border control because, without it, we’ll never stop this process. At the next Presidency session, I will insist that a detailed border-control plan be made so that those people would know that they can't go through here,” Ivanic said.

“Bosnia cannot sustain this number of migrants, politically. They’re not welcome in any environment. This has nothing to with their nationality or anything of the sort. People are scared and we are living in a country in which they're unable to ensure normal living conditions for themselves, let alone take care of migrants,” he stressed. “Border, border, border… that’s the only solution for Bosnia to get over this problem peacefully.”  

The Presidency member also noted that one should ask why did Bosnia become part of the migrant route. He concluded that the reason for this is that other countries are better at controlling their borders.  

“When we’re talking about the closing of borders, I mean to say we should impose better controls of illegal border crossings. Migrants that entered the country should return the same way they came in. This solution very clear. There’s no other solution,” Ivanic added, clarifying his statement.  

The latest data of the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs shows that since the start of this year, 8,930 illegal migrants have arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina on their way to the western Europe. A vast majority of them have expressed their intention to formally request asylum, but few have done so. They need a document confirming that they have applied for asylum to be able to travel around and to try to continue their journey to the European Union.