"Making a mini-Belarus out of Republika Srpska"

The authorities in the Republika Srpska (RS) are much more important to the interests of Moscow than the citizens of the RS, said Igor Crnadak, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), for Radio Free Europe (RSE).

With these words, he commented on the decision of the Government of RS to terminate cooperation with the USA and Great Britain, and the draft law that will entail the obligation to report all transactions and "everything they do" of non-governmental organizations that are financed from abroad.

The decision was made at the session of the entity government on Thursday, March 23, in Banja Luka. On the same day, the Parliament of the RS adopted a draft law that criminalizes defamation, and the stipulated fines are up to 60,000 euros.

For the Black man, everything is the result of a policy that looks towards Russia.

"I don't know how much direct Russian influence it is, but it is obvious that the government in RS is not a European government, it is not a government that is doing anything to move Republika Srpska towards the European Union," he says.

The termination of diplomatic relations and the targeting of non-governmental organizations, as he points out, is the continuation of RS's path to isolation.

"We are already in isolation. We already have financial problems because of that. Germany did not approve several multi-million dollar projects towards the Republika Srpska. Other financial blockades are also being announced due to the behavior of Milorad Dodik and the RS authorities, so obviously this will await us in the future." points out Crnadak.

He also adds that for the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik, the repressive laws and the termination of cooperation with the USA and Great Britain serve to cement the corruption of "several families" in the RS, but also for "negotiations with foreigners".

"The interest is obviously to create a hermetically sealed space where they can continue their activities," Crnadak believes.

A dangerous direction of increasing repression
Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, in the last few months announced the passing of a law on the criminalization of defamation, and then a law on the work of non-governmental organizations that are financed from abroad.

Despite numerous appeals from the international community that the laws are not European values, he did not give up his intentions to have them adopted.

Srđan Blagovčanin, chairman of the Board of Directors of Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told RSE that Milorad Dodik is making Republika Srpska a "mini Belarus in Bosnia and Herzegovina".

"I think it is undoubtedly clear that Republika Srpska is moving in a very dangerous direction of increasing repression, i.e. strengthening repressive methods and relations with regime dissenters. We can see such laws and such repression in Europe in Belarus with the well-known Alexander Lukashenko (President of Belarus)", says Blagovčanin.

He points out that it is "absolutely possible" that the break in relations with the USA and Great Britain, as well as the preparation of repressive laws, are the result of Russia's direct influence.

He believes that Russia needs, at a time of unique isolation and sanctions from Europe, to "create the impression that this front, breaking relations and sanctions, is actually not so unique".

A delegation of the RS Assembly was in Moscow in February, and RS President Milorad Dodik was honored on January 9, during the celebration of the Unconstitutional RS Day by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Dodik is also one of the few leaders who, as a member of the BiH Presidency, met with Putin twice last year, in the midst of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Blagovčanin reminds that these are just some of the indicators of the close cooperation of the RS authorities with Russia and Russian influence.

"Russia needs the illusion that the Russians have friends in Europe, that they are not completely isolated, and Dodik needs it to strengthen his position and present himself as a regional player. That is why these visits are being organized by the Russian Federation from the RS," says Blagovčanin, adding that sees the radicalization of the government's policy in the RS as a consequence of the "deterioration of relations" with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.

"Meetings between Dodik and Vučić were almost on a daily basis, and now they are quite rare. We also see Vučić's last move to appoint Adam Šukal, a harsh critic of Dodik, as an adviser. Also, from Dodik's statements it is clear that he is not the happiest due to the de-escalation of relations Serbia and Kosovo," says Blagovčanin.

RS would not survive for a few months without Western money
How do the authorities in the RS think that they hold a grudge against the West, and that they continue to receive money from these same Western countries, asks political scientist Velizar Antić, reminding that the budget of the Republika Srpska is largely financed by Western loans.

In the course of 2023, debts of 1.15 billion marks (about 600 million euros) on the basis of international loans and obligations are due for payment to the Republic of Srpska.

"The Republika Srpska would not be able to survive for a few months without these foreign, western loans. So, the RS lives on the loans it takes to service the old ones, and the rest, the rest of the money, goes to consumption, the large public sector of the budget," says Antić.

He is of the opinion that, with the last moves of the government, the RS is getting closer to authoritarian systems.

"We are starting to look more and more like North Korea. And as such, we cannot be a credible partner, with, first of all, the EU. It is not good, we ourselves choose to go into isolation, we impose sanctions on ourselves in some way," he said. Antić.

The policy of isolation, according to Antic, "draws a target on the forehead" of the RS, and the consequences will be felt by the inhabitants of that entity.

"Neither Dodik nor the tycoons who came to huge sums of money will suffer. They have huge sums of money, they will live in exotic destinations tomorrow, but with this kind of policy Republika Srpska is becoming a black hole in Europe," concludes Antić.

Opposition parties, non-governmental organizations, media and international institutions and embassies strongly condemn and demand the withdrawal of all repressive laws whose drafts have been adopted.