Washington we have a problem - and Nelson could end up on the Blacklist too

By Rasim BELKO

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American blacklist. It sounds like some action thriller. In fact, it is a mechanism of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) which sanctions all enemies of democracy, sovereign states, corrupt politicians, drug dealers...

However, this is not the case in Bosnia and Herzegovina. First example - Milorad Dodik. From the blacklist, he became president of the state, he controls, he dictates, he destroys, and he is turning democracy into the worst apartheid after South Africa.

This Milorad Dodik is today a reliable partner of the advanced command posts of American diplomacy in BiH. Ambassador Eric Nelson regularly meets with Dodik, as do other diplomats who occasionally visit our country.

All these meetings give a rather strange note, because, in January 2017, after Dodik was blacklisted, the State Department stated: "As a result of today's action, any property or interest in property of Dodik in U.S. jurisdiction is blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from entering into transactions with him. In addition, persons who provide material support to persons designated under this executive order, including Dodik, may also be subject to designation.".

Perhaps Nelson does not trade or materially assist Milorad Dodik. However, political trading with the existence of BiH, violating Dayton, European Conventions, and racist-chauvinistic behavior, should certainly be re-examined by the White House and the State Department.

Because, if persons who "collaborate" with Dodik are threatened with the Blacklist, the American ambassador could easily end up on it too.

How, why, and with what intention, the ambassador of the strongest democratic country in the world cooperates with a man "convicted" of undermining and destroying the Dayton Peace Agreement and directly confronting American interests, remains a question that Nelson will have to answer.

But, the story does not end there. It becomes even more rigid when Dodik pokes his finger in the eye and laughs at the American administration and Nelson himself. Because, appointing Nikola Špirić to the Commission for Supervision of the Agency for the Fight Against Corruption is a mockery of common sense.

And as is the master, so is his servant. Špirić was blacklisted on September 10, 2018, due to, lo and behold, corruption. Whether the BiH government embodied in SDA, HDZ, and SNSD reasoned "Špirić is on the Blacklist due to corruption, he will know well about APIK too" I don't know, but that they are not normal is quite clear.

The question is why the reaction of the American ambassador in BiH was mild and unworthy. We don't even ask about the Europeans in BiH anymore, they should also be on the Blacklist.

Nelson had and should have known two things. First, a person on the Blacklist for corruption cannot and must not be appointed to monitor the work of an Agency that "fights" against corruption. Although, even until now, this APIK has not exerted itself much with its work. Second, Nelson was certainly well-briefed, especially about statements that are "above" him in the American administration.

Therefore, he had to know what stance Matthew Palmer, the US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, has on Špirić's appointment. Because, Palmer was quite clear in February this year and condemned the proposal to appoint Špirić.

What he especially had to know is the fact that Špirić was put on the Blacklist by none other than Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, who also banned corrupt Špirić and his family from entering the US.

However, Nelson's silence on Špirić in the fight against corruption is not surprising, given the policy of the international community in BiH in recent years, and the US is a key factor in that international policy.

Giving wings to the political organization SNSD, its leader Dodik, and members like Špirić is an attack on Dayton, peace, and the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, a redefinition of American policy in BiH is necessary, so that we are clear whether they are now cooperating with individuals they have condemned with the Blacklist.

Because, the credibility of the Blacklist is in question if the American ambassador cooperates with individuals on it, while at the same time all rights of persons on that list are denied, who are not nearly as dangerous as Dodik's anti-Bosnian and anti-Dayton behavior or Špirić's corruption.

Inconsistency is much worse than inaction, and if the American promotion and empowerment of cadres like Dodik and Špirić continues, soon the American administration could receive the message "Washington we have a problem" - and Nelson could end up on the Blacklist too!