SIPA Skirts Ban on Work in Bosnian Serb Entity

The State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, which is in charge of the fight against terrorism and organized crime in Bosnia, is still conducting operations in Republika Srpska, even though the government of the Serb-dominated entity has halted cooperation with the agency.

Sources in SIPA told BIRN this was possible because carrying out arrests does not require significant cooperation with the authorities in the entity.

"SIPA carries out its arrests under the sole authority of the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina[ the state prosecution]," a SIPA source told BIRN, adding that "cooperation with the authorities of RS has more to do with the possibility of obtaining some material or working together during the investigation".

The same source confirmed that all recent operations "were carried out without any major problem".

SIPA has arrested seven persons suspected of war crimes during several actions conducted since December 10, prompting the government of Republika Srpska to announce that it was halting all cooperation with SIPA, the state prosecution and the state court.

The authorities scrapped cooperation with SIPA after the agency arrested five persons suspected of war crimes in the town of Bosanski Novi, raiding a police station, a move that the Interior Minister of Republika Srpska, Dragan Lukac, called "unconstitutional".

Lukac said that the RS government had ordered his ministry to prevent state police or prosecutors from entering or investigating any municipal or entity offices in Republika Srpska.

However, in a climbdown, on Monday, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Zeljka Cvijanovic, announced that the director of police in the RS and SIPA would sign a new agreement, reactivating cooperation with...