US Treasury Sanctions Bosnian Serb Leaders

Facts

• On Monday, the US Dept. of Treasury placed sanctions on four senior Bosnian Serb officials for damaging the 1995 peace accord. The treaty ended a war that claimed more than 100K lives.¹
• The four officials — which include Zeljka Cvijanovic, a Serb member of the tripartite collective Bosnian presidency, and Radovan Viskovic, the Prime Minister of the Serb political entity in Bosnia — allegedly developed a law that Western nations claim disregards Bosnia's constitutional court.¹
• The justice minister and parliament speaker of the Serb Republic were also sanctioned. Lawmakers in the Serb Republic voted in June to stop rulings by the court — something initiated by the region's separatist pro-Russian President Milorad Dodik.²
• The US said that the move "threatens the country’s future trajectory and successful integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.” The Bosnian Serb ruling party suggested that the sanctions were “shameful” and “hypocritical.”³
• Parliament speaker Nenad Stevandic said that the sanctions against him were a "decoration for consistency, steadfastness and non-indulgence in the face of blackmail and threats from those considered powerful."²
• Following the conclusion of former Yugoslavia's break up, Bosnia was separated into two autonomous regions — the Serb-dominated Republic of Srpska, and the Federation shared by Bosnian Muslims and Croats — under the Dayton Accords. These regions comprise a complex and decentralized political system.⁴

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²Reuters, ³ABC News, and ⁴Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by UPI. Those sanctioned by the US treasury are trying to destabilize Bosnia's fragile peace with their separatist rhetoric and political agenda. The Dayton Accords, though not perfect, alongside Western oversight, have prevented the resumption of ethnic conflict in Bosnia, and the US will continue to help keep the peace.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by RT. Washington's moves in the Balkans are to be expected of an imperialist power that is trying to spark conflict and discord along the frontiers with Russia. The West, particularly the US, seeks to ensnare countries like Georgia, Bosnia, and Moldova and turn them into zones of confrontation with Russia. The US continues to destabilize fragile regions to serve its geopolitical desires.