Monday, December 4, 2023
 
 

Washington sanctions BiH officials undermining Dayton Agreement

Republika Srpska (RS) in the crosshairs

US Library of Congress
Dayton Agreement Map 1995

- Advertisement -

On October 3, the US Department of State announced the designation of two individuals and one commercial entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for undermining democratic processes or institutions in the country under the US’ Western Balkans sanctions program.

Since much of the world remains focused on the war in Ukraine and the coordinated program of sanctions against Russia, the sanctions regime has generally gone unnoticed in the past year, except by countries in the region and of course, Balkan journalists.

Undermining the Dayton Agreement risks sanctions

Washington’s Western Balkans sanctions program targets individuals and entities that, among other criteria, work to undermine or threaten the postwar agreements and institutions established as part of the Dayton Peace Agreement. In addition to travel restrictions managed by the Department of State, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) serves as the primary administrative organ for all financial sanctions, which normally entails reporting and freezing all assets owned by the sanctioned individuals/entities.

In the October 3 announcement, the US designated Fadil Novalic, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH); Slobodan Stankovic, a businessman with close ties to Milorad Dodik, a senior Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) official previously designated for corruption and obstructing the Dayton Peace Agreement; and Stankovic’s business entity, Integral Inzenjering A.D. Laktasi (Integral).

In announcing the sanctions, the Department of State noted “under Dodik’s leadership, the ruling coalition in BiH’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity is seeking to create parallel structures that undermine state-level institutions, while ethno-nationalist parties in the FBiH are crippling the country’s democratic processes and abusing positions of power to derive improper financial and political benefit.”

The State Department further explained “Novalic is being designated for undermining democratic processes or institutions in BiH. As Prime Minister of the FBiH, where the issue of pensions has strong political salience, he misused pensioner data contrary to BiH law for the benefit of his own political party. This action is just one of many publicly reported activities in which he used his position for personal or party gain and undermined democratic processes and political institutions essential to BiH’s chosen future within the Euro-Atlantic community.”  Novalic is already facing charges from the central government in Sarajevo for corrupt activities in 2020 connected to medical equipment procured during the early phases of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Dodik crony in the spotlight

The State Department took time to explain how the support structures for dangerous Republika Srpska politicians were also being designated. “Stankovic is being designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Dodik. Stankovic has long supported Dodik’s destabilizing activities. Stankovic’s firm Integral receives major construction projects in the RS without fair and open competition due to its close connections to RS leadership.”

“In return, Stankovic provided support to Dodik’s propaganda machine by transforming the formerly independent media outlet, Alternativna Televizija, into a mouthpiece for Dodik and his destabilizing and divisive activities. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Alternativna Televizija for these activities in January 2022. Integral is being designated for being owned or controlled by or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Stankovic.”

Washington’s actions came on the heels of the September 26 designation of corrupt state prosecutor Diana Kajmakovic, who was designated to demonstrate that the US will continue to promote accountability for activities that undermine BiH’s democratic processes and institutions, as well as for complicity in or provision of material support for such activities.

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Co-founder and Executive Director for Global Economics and Southeast Europe at NE Global Media.  Former US diplomat with previous assignments in Eastern Europe, the UN, SE Asia, Greece, across the Balkans, as well as Washington DC.

Latest

Don't miss

Africa will watch the DRC’s elections with bated interest

2023 and 2024 are going to be busy years...

Ukraine, Middle East will dominate Cameron’s UK foreign policy agenda

David Cameron, who was made Foreign Secretary in a...

What will it take to prevent a Gaza reconstruction fiasco?

Let us be unequivocal about the current war between...

Ukraine’s persecuted mayor

Lest it be forgotten, the major thematic issue in...

What will it take to prevent a Gaza reconstruction fiasco?

Let us be unequivocal about the current war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas - the latter declared this war on Israeli...

Ukraine’s persecuted mayor

Lest it be forgotten, the major thematic issue in post-Maidan and pre-war Ukraine was, and continues to be, the transformation of Ukrainian society along...

Cameron’s return as Foreign Secretary raises UK’s international profile

David Cameron, who was made foreign secretary in a surprise move by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his cabinet reshuffle on November 13, brings...

Russia’s powerful economic levers over Armenia

Armenia's relations with its strategic partner Russia are getting worse and worse and its leaders seem to desire a shift in geopolitical orientation towards the West....

New US actions against corruption and Russian malign influence in the Western Balkans

On November 16, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, known by its acronym OFAC, designated eight individuals and six...

Rebuilding Ukraine: Opportunities and concerns for foreign businesses

Such is the scale of the effort required to rebuild Ukraine that the World Bank in March 2023 estimated it at $411 billion. That...

Why China’s new map has stirred regional tensions

In the waning days of summer, closely following a BRICS summit and mere days ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Group...

Kazakhstan accelerating efforts to expand the strategic Middle Corridor

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which is frequently referred to as the Middle Corridor, is a multilateral institutional development project linking the containerized rail...