Bota

Dash announces 'Non Grata' 13 individuals and one entity in Bosnia

Dash announces 'Non Grata' 13 individuals and one entity in Bosnia

The United States on Friday declared eight individuals unwanted for organizing and implementing the plan for the celebration of Republika Srpska Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose celebration has been declared unconstitutional by the country's institutions and condemned by Western states.

The U.S. State Department referred to the 2024 commemoration and said the people involved in the decision "supported the secessionist agenda" of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik.

Republika Srpska in Bosnia celebrated last week the same day as a parade in the center of Banja luka, the entity's capital, despite calls from the United States and the European Union against such a celebration.

According to the State Department, the January 9 celebrations, which are commemorated on this day in 1992, when Bosnian Serbs proclaimed the creation of their state that triggered the bloody four-year war with over 100,000 casualties, "are emblematic of Dodik's long-running efforts to undermine the Dayton Peace Accords, "Regional peace and security."

"The actions of these individuals threaten the territorial integrity, peace and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina by undermining the framework of the Dayon Peace Agreement and its institutions, including the Constitutional Court and the authority of the High Representative," the statement said.

The State Department said seven of Friday's designations "helped plan and organize and celebrate well into 2025."

The State Department also said it has designated five other people and one entity as part of the financial network of Mr. Dodik and his family.

"Dodik has used his official position to create personal wealth through companies associated with him and his family to the detriment of Bosnian residents," the State Department said in a statement. Dodik and his family "often rely on a network of trusted collaborators to hide traces of their involvement and evade U.S. sanctions."

The Bosnian war ended in the autumn of 1995 with a U.S.-brokered peace agreement, the Agreement reached in Dayton led to the creation of Serb and Bosnian-Croat entity in Bosnia, which are held linked by weak central institutions.

Bosnian Serbs, however, aim to gain as much independence as possible. Pro-Russian nationalist leader Milorad Dodik has openly called for secession from Bosnia, defying U.S. and British sanctions on him over its political approach.

Friday's decision comes just days after U.S. President Joe Biden expanded an executive order to the Western Balkans that envisions sanctions on individuals and entities who violate or are compliant in undermining agreements that ended wars in the region or pose threats to its security.

Latest news