(VIDEO) Russia condemns the introduction of sanctions against Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik as a clear example of attempts by the outgoing US administration to hamper political settlement in the Balkans, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
Bosnian Serb Leader Calls US Ambassador ‘Enemy’
Republika Srpska’s President Milorad Dodik responded to US sanctions imposed on him with a blistering attack on the US ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, who he described as Bosnian Serbs’ enemy.
On Tuesday, the United States sanctioned Dodik, the head of one of the two entities comprising Bosnia and Herzegovina, for blocking the Dayton Peace Accords.
RUSSIA CONDEMNS US SANCTIONS AGAINST REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PRESIDENT ~ “We decidedly condemn this biased step. We consider it further evidence of feverish attempts of outgoing administration of [President Barack] Obama to artificially complicate further international efforts in post-conflict settlement in the Balkans and in other regions,” according to the statement from Russian Foreign Ministry .
The president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, hit back on Wednesday after sanctions were imposed on him by the US Treasury, declaring the US ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Maureen Cormack, “a proven enemy” of the Bosnian Serbs who was “unwelcome in Republika Srpska”.
At a press conference, Dodik called on Bosnia’s foreign minister Igor Crnadak to declare Cormack persona non grata, because he claimed the US diplomat had “violated the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
The US Treasury announced on Tuesday that it had imposed sanctions on Dodik for “for his role in defying the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in violation of the rule of law, thereby actively obstructing the Dayton Accords [which ended the Bosnian war]”.
On January 9, Dodik led celebrations for a public holiday called the Day of Republika Srpska, which had been banned by the country’s Constitutional Court on the basis that the holiday was linked to an event in the Serbian Orthodox Church calendar and therefore discriminated against non-Serbs living in the entity.
Dodik also held a referendum in September to garner public support for the celebration, also in defiance of a Constitutional Court ban.
The sanctions mean that any of Dodik’s access to any property or interests in property within US jurisdiction is blocked, and US citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with him. They do not involve a travel ban.
The EU delegation to Bosnia said however that it was not considering imposing any sanctions on Dodik.
Meanwhile a former vice president of Republika Srpska, Emil Vlajki, who is now a professor in Banja Luka, said he believed the US sanctions had opened a “Pandora’s box” and would unify Bosnian Serbs behind the idea of splitting from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“These sanctions are sealing the fate of Bosnia,” said Vlajki.
“From now on, freedom is the only alternative for the Serb people,” he added.
While no restrictive measures are being actively considered, the EU institutions and member states continue to monitor the implications of the failure to respect decisions of the Constitutional Court,” Jamila Milovic-Halilovic, the spokesperson for the EU delegation and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told BIRN.
High Representative Valentin Inzko, the top official in Bosnia responsible for implementation of the Dayton Accords, welcomed the sanctions, telling media that Dodik had been “playing with fire and crossed a red line”.
But Inzko’s office sought to explains that the sanctions were not meant as an attack on Serbs.
“These sanctions should not be seen as anything against Republika Srpska or the Serb people, but rather as a demonstration that when individual officials use rhetoric and actions that violate the Dayton Peace Agreement there are consequences,” the Office of the High Representative’s spokesperson Liljana Radetic said in a statement.
Bosnian Security Minister Dragan Mektic and Sadik Ahmetovic, a lawmaker from the main Bosniak Party for Democratic Action, said Dodik should resign.
But at Wednesday morning’s press conference, Dodik was unrepentant.
“I feel proud and I do not see this as a punishment,” he said.
He added that the decision to impose sanctions was futile “because they know I have no property in the US”.
He also said that he expected the administration of Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on Friday, to take a different approach towards him.
In the streets of Republika Srpska’s administrative centre Banja Luka, the mood was also critical.
“I think this is ridiculous. I don’t understand why they sanctioned him. He has my full support. Those Americans are always against Serbs. It is enough,” said Veselin, a retired factory worker.
“I don’t think they can do anything to him. But I am worried about us. This has gone too far,” said Stefan, an administrative worker.
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US Sanctions Dodik for Obstructing Dayton Agreement
The US Treasury confirmed sanctions against Republika Srpska president Milorad Dodik on Tuesday after he defied rulings handed down by Bosnia’s Constitutional Court.
The US Treasury has sanctioned President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, for obstructing the peace agreement that ended the war of 1992 to 1995 by defying the orders of Bosnia’s Constitutional Court.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, confirmed it had added Dodik to its list of sanctioned individuals on Tuesday “for his role in defying the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in violation of the rule of law, thereby actively obstructing the Dayton Accords”.
“By obstructing the Dayton Accords, Milorad Dodik poses a significant threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said John E. Smith, Acting OFAC Director.
“Today’s action underscores the US commitment to the Dayton Accords and supports international efforts for the country’s continued European integration,” he added.
The sanction means that any of Dodik’s property or interest in property in possession of a US individual or within US jurisdiction is blocked.
US individuals are also prohibited from engaging in transactions with him.
Advisor to Dodik, Aleksander Vranjes, responded to the news by telling media: “This is a desperate move from the [US] administration that is on the leave. Considering that the new administration showed good will, we can expect that he will be removed from the list.”
The designation was made in accordance with an executive order signed by President George W. Bush in 2003, authorising sanctions against “persons determined to have actively obstructed, or pose a significant risk of actively obstructing, the Dayton Accords”, said US ambassador to Bosnia, Maureen Cormack, in a video statement shared by the embassy on Twitter.
Milorad Dodik has defied the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, violated the rule of law, and poses a significant risk of obstructing the implementation of the Dayton Accords,” she added.
On January 9, Dodik led celebrations for a public holiday called the Day of Republika Srpska, which had been banned by the country’s Constitutional Court.
He had also held a referendum in September to garner public support for the celebration, which had also been banned by the Constitutional Court on the basis that the holiday was linked to an event in the Serbian Orthodox Church calendar and therefore was discriminatory against non-Serbs living in the entity.
Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s prime minister, said it was unlikely that Belgrade would follow the US moves against Dodik.
“The government is the one that makes the decision, but I just don’t know how to answer you. That we say that Serbia has seized the assets of Republika Srpska’s president and that we are not allowing him to come to Belgrade – it is not realistic and it will not happen,” Vucic told Serbian public broadcaster RTS.
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