The United States (U.S.) Treasury Department put Osman Mehmedagic Osmica, Dragan Stankovic and Edin Gacanin on the “blacklist”. The State Department states that ethno-nationalist parties continue to undermine institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
The former director of the Intelligence and Security Agency (OSA) of BiH, Osman Mehmedagic Osmica, a member of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), was placed on the “blacklist” of the U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday (March 15th). Dragan Stankovic, director of the Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs of Republika Srpska(RS) and Edin Gacanin, who is said to be “one of the world’s biggest drug dealers”, were also put on the “blacklist”.
The former director of OSA, Osman Mehmedagic, found himself on the “blacklist” because, as it is stated, he abused the state-owned telecommunications company in favor of the SDA.“Mehmedagic used the public company BH Telecom to collect data from the mobile phone network on the activities of BiH politicians who are not connected to the SDA”, it is stated, among other things, in the explanation of the U.S. In the American explanations (statement of the State Department) it is also stated that “ethno-nationalist political parties continue to undermine democratic institutions in BiH, engage in corrupt behavior and violate the Dayton Peace Agreement in order to undermine the state of BiH for personal and political gain”. “We sanctioned three individuals in BiH who threatened the rule of law, undermined institutions, obstructed or threatened the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and materially contributed to the international proliferation of illegal drugs,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on his Twitter account.
SDA denies the accusations and demands evidence
The most influential Bosniak party also announced. On several occasions, the SDA “publicly demanded that the U.S. Embassy present evidence” for claims of this party’s connection with corruption and obstruction of corruption investigations, as well as for other “false accusations”. “In the most recent decision by which the former OSA director Osman Mehmedagic was blacklisted, the accusations against the SDA were repeated and expanded,” states the SDA.
Osman Mehmedagic claims that the American accusations are “untrue”. He called on the American institutions, if they have any evidence that confirms the accusations made and questions the legality of his actions, to inform the judicial institutions of BiH about it. “I will be very happy to respond to the call of judicial institutions, I am absolutely sure that I have never done anything illegal,” said Mehmedagic. He is surprised by the accusations because of “many years of successful cooperation with U.S. institutions”.
Attempt to usurp property of the state of BiH
The State Department stated that “the RS leadership is engaged in secessionist actions in order to take away powers from the state and give them to entity governments and institutions.” Dragan Stankovic was sanctioned because the U.S. believes that he, as the director of the Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs of the RS, carried out activities that were “an attempt to usurp the property of the state of BiH located in the RS, contrary to the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH, the Constitution BiH and ban the disposal of state property imposed by the Office of the High Representative (OHR)“.
The Republic Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs of RS called the decision to put the director of this institution on the blacklist “impertinent and arrogant”. “In accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the RS, the administration carried out tasks within its jurisdiction, and accordingly the sanctions introduced were completely inappropriate,” it is stated in the statement by the Republic Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs of RS.
More than 1000 people on the “blacklist“
The placing of Mehmedagic and Stankovic on the American “blacklist” is also commented on social networks. BiH director and one of the founders of “Our Party” Dino Mustafic writes on Twitter that the State Department’s report is “scary”. “Instead of party announcements, institutional investigations of responsibility should be launched,” says Mustafic. Almedin Sisic, editor-in-chief of the Inforadar portal, notes that on several occasions he “expressed doubt” that he was one of the journalists being eavesdropped. “Now after the official explanation of the U.S. Ministry of Finance about why (Osmica) was put on the ‘black list’, I am more than convinced of it,” writes Sisic on Twitter.
Journalist Sead Numanovic writes that the U.S. sanctions, i.e. the American “blacklist”, have not had any effect so far. He mentioned Milorad Dodik as an example, who has been under American (and British) sanctions for years, and who “has never been politically stronger than he is today.” He notes that the Americans made a whole series of accusations against persons from BiH whom they sanctioned, but that most of these persons “progressed in their political careers”.
According to the data of Free Europe, more than 1,000 persons, companies and organizations from BiH are on the American “blacklists”. Alternative Television, the President of the RS Milorad Dodik (SNSD – Alliance of Independent Social Democrats), the Chairman of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament Nikola Spiric (SNSD), the former president of the Federation of BiH (FBiH) Marinko Cavara (Croatian Democratic Union of BiH), Federal Prime Minister Fadil Novalic (SDA), former RS Minister of Health Alen Seranic(SNSD), former Chief Prosecutor of BiH Gordana Tadic, former member of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council Milan Tegeltija (SNSD), Milovan Cicko Bjelica (Serbian Democratic Party) and others are on the ”blacklists”, DW reports.
E.Dz.
