Today, the Office for the Control of Foreign Assets of the US Department of Finance (OFAC) included three persons from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the list of sanctioned persons – Branislav Okuka, advisor to the President of Republika Srpska, Jelena Pajić-Baštinac, Secretary General of the President of the RS and Srebrenko Golić, Chairperson of the Council of Peoples of the RS .
The US Embassy in BiH states that they contributed to the efforts of the individual under blockade (SDN) and the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik, to undermine the peace and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina by organizing and conducting the ceremony marking the “unconstitutional day of the Republika Srpska on January 9, 2024, which in Bosnia and Herzegovina declared an unconstitutional action.”
It is emphasized that these individuals helped Dodik’s efforts to undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement and the powers of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the High Representative.
“The United States is deeply concerned about the continued attempts to undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the two key institutions most important for peace and stability in the region,” said the undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance in charge of terrorism and financial intelligence affairs, Brian Nelson.
“We will continue to call to account those who seek to sow divisions for their own political goals, to the detriment of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” added the announcement of the SADA Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
DETAILS OF SANCTIONS:
Branislav Okuka was deeply involved in the planning and realization of the celebration of the Day of the RS, and was responsible for increasing attendance at the celebrations. Okuka originally belonged to an informal group of influential Dodik advisers who were sympathetic to Serbian nationalism and Russia, who supported the independence of the RS and focused on the preparation of plans for the transfer of competences from the state level of BiH to the institutions of the RS. Dodik and Okuka jointly planned the strategy of a one-day withdrawal of Bosnian Serb officials from all state institutions of BiH. Okuka and a group of Dodik’s allies also planned to resist any attempt by BiH authorities to arrest Dodik in the event of a conviction. In addition, Okuka was the main organizer of the protests called “The border exists” that were held in the fall of 2023 along the inter-entity demarcation line in BiH, and he is the author of the lists of Bosnian Serb officials who gained personal benefit thanks to their association with Dodik’s party, Savez independent social democrats, in order to participate in the next protests.
Okuka was included in the list of sanctioned persons in accordance with Executive Order 14033 because he acted or allegedly acted for and on behalf, directly or indirectly, of Dodik.
Jelena Pajić Baštinac is the Secretary General of the President of the RS. Together with Okuka, she was a member of the organizing committee for the celebration of RS Day, which was deeply involved in the planning and implementation of events on that occasion. Baštinac was also responsible for increasing the attendance of people at the celebrations on January 9. As a participant in those activities, Baštinac actively promoted mass attendance at the RS Day celebrations and publicly rejected the warnings and decisions of the high representative regarding the RS Day celebrations as risky for the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Srebrenka Golić is the chairwoman of the People’s Council of the RS and a long-time member of the SNSD. On 27 November 2023, Golić met with others, including Okuka and Baštinac, in order to establish an organizing committee for celebrating RS Day – of which she was also a member – and to approve the event plan for the celebration on January 9. After that, Golić actively participated in the RS Day celebrations in an official capacity.
Baštinac and Golić were included in the list of sanctioned persons pursuant to Executive Order 14033 for responsibility for or complicity in, direct or indirect participation in, violations of, or activities that constitute an obstruction or threat to the implementation of any agreement or framework or accountability mechanism related to regional security , peace, cooperation or mutual recognition in the Western Balkans, including the Prespa Agreement of 2018, the Ohrid Framework Agreement of 2001, UN Security Council Resolution 1244, the Dayton Peace Agreement or the Conclusions of the London Peace Implementation Conference Council of December 1995, including decisions or conclusions the High Representative, the Peace Implementation Council or its Governing Board, or the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, or in relation to the former Yugoslavia, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
