The U.S. State Department under Secretary Antony Blinken sanctioned two officials Monday accused of threatening the stability and peace of Bosnia and Herzegovina. File Photo by Michael A. McCoy/UPI |
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June 6 (UPI) -- The Biden administration on Monday blacklisted two Bosnia and Herzegovina officials on accusations of threatening the peace and stability of the country through pursuing ethno-nationalist interests.
The Treasury and State Department identified Marinko Cavara, the president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is one of two entities that compose the country, and Alen Seranic, the minister of health and social welfare for the other entity, the Republika Srpska.
The two entities were formed in 1995 with the signing of the Dayton Accords, which ended the bloody three-and-a-half year Bosnian War that resulted in the deaths of some 100,000 people.
State Secretary Antony Blinken said the country is facing its most serious crisis since the war with the ruling coalition in the Republika Srpska entity seeking to erect structures that undermine state-level institutions and leaders of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina threatening democratic processes.
Cavara and Seranic "continue to pursue ethno-nationalist interests at the expense of peace, stability and prosperity of their country," the United States' top diplomat said in a statement.
The Treasury said Cavara has refused to nominate judges to fill vaccines on the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitutional court since 2019. It accused Cavara of holding the court hostage to further the interests of his political party.
The federal department blacklisted Seranic for furthering secessionist efforts in the Republika Srpska, specifically by creating a new medicine and drug administration only for his entity that would remove authorities from the state-level institution that serves the entire country.
"Marinko Cavara and Alen Seranic have each sought to pursue ethno-nationalist and political agendas at the expense of the democratic institutions and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement.
The sanctions freeze all U.S. property and interests in property under their names as well as block U.S. citizens from doing business with them.
"The United States will continue to use all of its authorities to promote accountability for those who undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement and democracy in the Western Balkans," Blinken said.
The move comes nearly two months after the Biden administration in April blacklisted seven people and one entity in four Balkan nations, including two people from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
