The United States (U.S.) Department of the Treasury has removed several associates of Milorad Dodik, the court-removed president of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), from the sanctions list. The individuals are Jelena Pajic Bastinac, Danijel Dragicevic, Goran Rakovic, and Dijana Milankovic.
The removal from the U.S. blacklist was announced yesterday on the official website of the Department.
The four of them were sanctioned at different times due to their connection with the organization of the celebration of the unconstitutional “RS Day,” that is, for undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Jelena Pajic Bastinac was part of the organizing committee of “RS Day” and was closely involved in planning and carrying out the event. She actively promoted mass attendance at the commemoration on January 9th and publicly rejected the warnings of the High Representative.
U.S. media previously wrote that, as a result of lobbying, the sanctions against the head of the Office of the RS President, Danijel Dragicevic, were reduced. However, the current official announcement suggests that he has been completely removed from the blacklist.
Goran Rakovic, who at the time of the sanctions was the head of the RS Protocol Office, was then named as the person who, on Dodik’s orders, participated in organizing “RS Day” and carrying out those activities.
Dijana Milankovic is the director of RTRS, who was initially sanctioned for promoting unconstitutional activities, that is, for promoting the celebration of “RS Day.”
Photo: illustration
