The Bosniak Coordination Board of North America (BKOSA) has announced that it will request that U.S. institutions impose visa restrictions on Milorad Dodik, the leader of the SNSD.
In a statement, BKOSA notes that the authorities of Republika Srpska (RS) have spent approximately 56.7 million dollars on lobbying in the United States. They point out that this estimate is based on reports from certain independent media outlets and their investigations into lobbying contracts concluded over the last two decades.
They are calling on the relevant institutions to disclose to the public the full contracts and details regarding payments, as well as information on the outcomes achieved through the expenditure of public funds.
Specifically, they have urged the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina to initiate proceedings against those responsible.
“What have the citizens of the Republika Srpska entity and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina received in exchange for nearly 100 million convertible marks (56.7 million dollars)? Better roads and hospitals? Higher wages and pensions? Jobs for young people?” the statement asks.
BKOSA has announced that it will reach out to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate, as well as the embassies of the United States and the United Kingdom in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They added that they are seeking a review of Dodik’s destabilizing political activities, transparency regarding the funding of lobbying efforts, and the potential imposition of visa restrictions against him, in accordance with U.S. law. They also addressed Dodik’s recent attendance at a MAGA movement gathering in Florida, noting that he paid for entry to the private political event and that this does not constitute evidence of official support from the U.S. administration.
They added that American conservative activist Evi Kokalari also publicly challenged the way this visit is being portrayed.
In a statement, BKOSA accused Dodik of “spreading Islamophobia from American soil,” noting that following the gathering in Florida, he stated that “Serbs are on the front lines of the struggle of Christianity against Islam, and that the RS [Republika Srpska] should therefore be strengthened.”
“Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to all its citizens, not to politicians who build their own futures at the expense of our children’s futures,” the statement concludes.
BKOSA consists of BECCNA Revival, the Bosniak-American National Association (BANA), Ja BiH, Bošnjaci.Net, and the Association of Bosniaks of New Hampshire.
