OpenSecrets, otherwise a non-partisan, independent and non-profit organization, has published interesting data regarding the spending of public money by Republika Srpska for lobbying in America.
This data states that the RS spent over 715 thousand dollars on lobbying in America during 2023.
Total foreign principal:
– Government of Srpska 630,000 dollars,
– Government of Republika Srpska 85,698 dollars.
Namely, OpenSecrets is the leading research group in America that monitors money in American politics and its influence on elections and public policy.
Their mission is to track the flow of money in American politics and provide data and analysis to strengthen democracy.
According to journalist Ivo Puljić, such data are the basis for sanctions against Milorad Dodik.
Obrad Kesic, Head of the Republika Srpska (RS) Representation in the United States (U.S.), Igor Crnadak, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and Aleksandra Pandurevic, member of the SDS Main Board, had a heated debate in the “Izazov” (Challenge) program on BN TV.
The SNSD has a sincere intention to return competencies to the RS level
”Washington wants changes to the Dayton Peace Agreement and support for the centralization of BiH,”Kesic claims.
”They want us to be obedient and change the Dayton Peace Agreement, to accept what has been changed in the Dayton Peace Agreement, and to tell them: “Everything that you did when you transferred competencies is fine, we want to support the construction of a highly centralized state, a unitary BiH. And that way we would have a great relationship with the State Department,” explains Kesic, head of the RS Representation in the U.S.
This thesis was denied by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH Igor Crnadak.
”From the U.S., from Washington, there are no demands to Dodik, or to anyone in RS to change Dayton to the detriment of RS. I was a guest of the big conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Dayton, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, it was already said that we should forget about spending energy on major changes in Dayton, but focus our energy on internal dialogue, internal agreement,” Crnadak says.
Referring to the statement of the head of the RS Representation in the U.S. that the SNSD has a sincere intention to return the competencies to the RS level, Crnadak asked why it was not done.
”If this is true of what Mr. Kesic says, the sincere intention of the SNSD to return the competencies and to do everything correctly in accordance with the Constitution, my question is why they did not finish. Today is June 10th, today we were supposed to have the RS Army, the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) RS according to the conclusions from December 10th,” Crnadak stated on Friday.
”Milorad Dodik has not carried out this crisis now, we know very well why we are in conflict with the so-called High Representative, we know why we are in conflict with part of the international community because he imposed a law criminalizing the majority of RS citizens,” Kesic added.
We have difficult communication with Washington
The communication of the RS Representation in the U.S. with the local administration is not satisfactory, said the head of this body, Obrad Kesic.
”We have difficult communication with Washington. In a way, since Mr. Jonathan Moore left, we haven’t had good communication and good relations with the State Department,”he emphasized.
”But, Mr. Kesic, it is your job to build those good relations. The RS budget says you have a 570.000 dollars budget. By 2015, that Representative Office had spent 11 million dollars,” Aleksandra Pandurevic had counter-arguments.
RS missions are a good idea but were misused by the RS government. Tens of millions of BAM were given for lobbying, but without concrete results, it was said in the program Izazovi, BN TV reports.
E.Dz.
