'Serbian World' at work: Dodik in a panic, Janković in the spotlight

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

Milorad Dodik is having a hard time with the sanctions, although he has only formally been banned from traveling to Slovenia. Everything else, from assets to business interests, has remained untouched!?

But even such a decision was enough to throw him off balance. For years, he had a secure foothold in Slovenia, both in political and business circles. It is no coincidence that a serious drama unfolded in Ljubljana before the decision was made. If a travel ban can be called a sanction at all.

The Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Željko Komšić, also reminded of this, interpreting what we are seeing and experiencing today:

“The sanctions hit Dodik hard. In fact, he was banned from traveling, and nothing related to his assets was touched. I must remind you that Dodik had a good foothold in Slovenia and in political structures, which is why the discussion about imposing sanctions lasted so long. I think a serious drama took place in Slovenia when this was decided, and it seems to be an intelligence assessment by their security agency that Dodik's aggressive approach and his connections in Slovenia pose a threat to the national security of that country,” Komšić said as a guest on Hayat TV.

The Slovenians clearly listened to their intelligence services only halfway, because the story doesn't end there.

Declaring Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon and President Nataša Pirc Musar as undesirable persons in the entity of Rs looked like a bad parody of politics. Dodik does not have the constitutional authority to decide who is a persona non grata in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But that did not stop him from playing the old card of insults, threats, and inventing competencies again. All to hide his powerlessness and fear of isolation.

And that's where the mayor of Ljubljana, Zoran Janković, comes onto the scene. Instead of staying silent, because he has no business in such matters, he decides to publicly "appeal" to Dodik to withdraw the decision. As if Dodik has any legal power to decide on this. As if Bosnia and Herzegovina is a private fiefdom where one person can declare foreign diplomats undesirable.

With his appearance, Janković exposed what has been known for a long time, that he is also part of the broader story of the so-called "Serbian World". Because why would the mayor of a European capital intervene in favor of Slovenian state officials, if not because of private and political connections that bind him to Dodik?

Therefore, Janković's gesture is not just a political misstep; it is a signal that Dodik still has his network, even in the very heart of the European Union. And that is a much more serious story than a travel ban.