KOVAČEVIĆ: BiH INSTITUTIONS SHOULD NOT HANDLE ISSUES OUTSIDE THEIR JURISDICTION

BANJA LUKA, MAY 27 /SRNA/ - Serb delegate in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Radovan Kovačević said that Serb representatives in BiH-level institutions, including the Parliamentary Assembly, primarily protect the interests of Republika Srpska, as well as the Constitution and constitutional structure of BiH, but that the problem lies in demands from political Sarajevo for these institutions to deal with matters outside their jurisdiction.

"Then they portray us as monsters again, claiming that we are blocking things or refusing to allow something", Kovačević stressed, reminding that the Constitution clearly defines what falls under the authority of BiH and what does not, as well as the competencies of Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH. According to him, political Sarajevo is trying to ignore this and wants BiH institutions to decide on everything, despite lacking constitutional authority to do so. "Then initiatives appear, for example regarding healthcare jurisdiction, and when you tell them that this is not within BiH's authority, they try to portray you as some sort of monster", Kovačević told RTRS. He said that the Federation of BiH has its own government and parliament, which is why time at the BiH level should no longer be wasted on issues unrelated to the competencies of joint institutions. Noting that the Constitution defines BiH as an asymmetric federation composed of the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska, Kovačević called on Federation representatives to resolve issues where the Constitution prescribes they should be resolved, if they genuinely want solutions. Kovačević said he is not "a representative up there in Sarajevo", but rather a representative of Republika Srpska in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Brussels, Washington, Tel Aviv or anywhere else in the world. "It is always completely clear whom I represent, and I have no problem reaching agreements with anyone in Sarajevo. On the contrary, I want us to reach agreements. I want all of us to take seriously everything that falls under the jurisdiction of BiH and, within our competencies, resolve everything that needs to be addressed in the Parliamentary Assembly, the BiH Presidency, the Council of Ministers or any other joint institution in order to help people in BiH,” Kovačević said. He pointed out that the problem lies in demands from Sarajevo for joint institutions to deal with issues outside the jurisdiction of BiH. As an example, Kovačević cited the proposal to reduce fuel excise taxes, revenues from which are shared between the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska. "It is logical that those whose revenues are concerned should decide on this", Kovačević said, adding that SNSD representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly had expressed readiness to intervene on the issue, but that there had been no partners in Sarajevo. According to Kovačević, there was only one goal in Sarajevo, and it entered parliamentary procedure, unfortunately with support from the opposition from Republika Srpska - to transfer decision-making authority from Republika Srpska and the Federation to Sarajevo, which SNSD representatives cannot allow. Kovačević stressed that Republika Srpska has a political structure ready for dialogue and compromise, which it has already demonstrated. "Whenever we had partners willing to talk, we reached agreements, made deals and took steps forward. Sometimes more slowly, sometimes more quickly", Kovačević said, reminding that at the beginning of the current mandate a significant number of laws were adopted by consensus, thanks to which BiH obtained EU candidate status.