SCHMIDT’S STAY QUESTIONABLE, MFA NEEDS TO PROVIDE ANSWERES

BANJALUKA, SEPTEMBER 19 /SRNA/ - International relations expert Lučiano Kaluža told SRNA there are many factors that cast doubt on how regular Christian Schmidt's stay in BiH is, and that during his arrival the procedure was carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs /MFA/ in the Council of Ministers, not the BiH Presidency, as they are trying to misinform the public.

"The procedure for issuing official identity cards, i.e. accreditation to diplomats, is very clear. After sending a diplomatic note, which is sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accompanied by a copy of the diplomatic passport, it is necessary to issue an official accreditation for a diplomat who took office," explained Kaluža. He added that in that case the notification process is not obligatory for the BiH Presidency. "Precisely those statements that appeared in the media about the Presidency being obligatory to give a certain type of consent are completely wrong and is a matter of ignorance of the protocol. This best speaks of the problems within BiH," Kaluža pointed out. When it comes to Christian Schmidt, Kaluža pointed out that due to the insufficient information it is not possible to determine exactly how the procedure went, but he is of the opinion that the diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was sent from OHR, which is why they bear a great responsibility over no relevant decision by the UN Security Council. "I have no insight into how the documents were processed and how they were delivered. We definitely deal with a technical problem regarding his stay in BiH. The one who sent the request for Schmidt's accreditation had to send an adequate decision on his appointment," Kaluža believes. He pointed out that it is not possible to accredit a foreign diplomat without the relevant decision of the country which he comes from or the international institution responsible for the appointment. "It's like if an embassy in Germany sent a note for a diplomat to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its own, without that diplomat having a relevant appointment decision from his country," explained Kaluža.