The organization “Restart” held an exhibition titled “USAID Donations to the Institutions of the Republika Srpska (RS).” In a way, the exhibition is a response to the authorities in the RS, led by Milorad Dodik, who have for days been criticizing the media and non-governmental organizations that have used USAID donations through various projects.
The square would be too small, say those at Restart, if it were to display all of USAID’s donations to institutions and local communities in the RS. According to Restart, just three ministries have taken around 250 million BAM from USAID in the past ten years.
A member of this organization, Stefan Blagic, says he welcomes the announcements that all the money given by USAID will be scrutinized: “Let them start with civic associations, but it’s not fair that those who took with a spoon are being controlled, while those who took with a shovel are not.”
“Did this whole story escalate because of those scanners? Are the scanners what triggered this discussion? Is this entire debate about foreign donations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) revolving around whether we will introduce these scanners and whether the electoral process will be as it should be or as it has been so far?” asks political scientist Velizar Antic.
The RS, through its institutions, public enterprises, and local communities, has received more than 400 million dollars from USAID over the past ten years.
“The authorities and civic associations, although not in nearly the same proportion, have been financed from the same source, yet some are called traitors while others are patriots,” emphasizes lawyer Jovana Kisin-Zagajac.
The President of RS, Milorad Dodik, recently called USAID a criminal organization and announced that the police would investigate how USAID funds were spent in the RS.
