At a meeting convened by the OHR yesterday, officials of the Federation, the Republika Srpska and Bosnia-Herzegovina pledged to implement a two-month old decree on inter-entity bus lines, which will allow regular bus traffic between the Entities to start early next month.
Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Minister of Civil Affairs and Communications had issued the decree in April, but to date it had not been implemented.
Didier Fau, Head of the OHR’s Economic Department, welcomed the new determination of the authorities to see the issue through. “We can’t wait any longer,” he said. “People have the right to exercise total freedom of movement throughout the country. Restarting and expanding inter-entity bus traffic can promote such freedom of movement.”
Fau added, “Whereas bus companies are willing to open new bus lines from Sarajevo to Pale or Banja Luka, from Mostar to Nevesinje and Trebinje, the authorities of the state and the entities have not been able to implement the legislation.”
The meeting was attended by Minister Spasoje Albijanic and Deputy Minister Nudzeim Recica of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications, representatives of the Transport Ministries of both Entities and representatives of bus companies from Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka and Pale.