Bosnian Serb leader wants U.S. ambassador declared persona non grata

Record ID: 164870

  • Title: Bosnian Serb leader wants U.S. ambassador declared persona non grata
  • Date: 18th January 2017
  • Summary: BANJA LUKA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (JANUARY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF PRESIDENTIAL PALACE SERB REPUBLIC FLAG MILORAD DODIK, PRESIDENT OF SERB REPUBLIC, ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) MILORAD DODIK, PRESIDENT OF SERB REPUBLIC, SAYING: "These sanctions were not imposed by the United States, these sanctions were made by those who lost elections in the U.S." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) MILORAD DODIK, PRESIDENT OF SERB REPUBLIC, SAYING: "(U.S. ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina) Cormack is a persona non grata in the Serb Republic, I request that (Igor) Crnadak (Bosnia's foreign minister) declares her a persona non grata in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I expect that the new government in the U.S. recalls her from Bosnia and Herzegovina and to press criminal charges against her." CUTAWAY (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) MILORAD DODIK, PRESIDENT OF SERB REPUBLIC, SAYING: "I expect that the new administration in the U.S. and it's new policies will bring significant changes here. I expect Mrs. Cormack to leave and to never come back. I expect that with the new U.S. ambassador who will be sent by the new administration I will have very successful cooperation." SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (JANUARY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING BOSNIA'S SECURITY MINISTER DRAGAN MEKTIC ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) BOSNIA'S SECURITY MINISTER DRAGAN MEKTIC, SAYING: "In regard of the president of the Serb Republic Milorad Dodik I keep wondering where is the end of this economical and political downfall where we are now and where he (Dodik) is taking us with the policies that have such an epilogue." MEKTIC TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) BOSNIA'S SECURITY MINISTER DRAGAN MEKTIC, SAYING: "Warmongering policies will not succeed here and I call upon all people here, Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks to reject such (war) rhetorics." MEKTIC ENDS NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 1st February 2017 15:37
  • Keywords: Bosnia Milorad Dodik U.S. ambassador
  • Location: BANJA LUKA, SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
  • City: BANJA LUKA, SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
  • Country: Belgium
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015ZLYQMF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said on Wednesday (January 18) he was proud of being blacklisted by the United States for obstructing a 1995 peace agreement and called on Bosnian authorities to declare the U.S. ambassador persona non grata in retaliation.
    The U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control imposed sanctions against Dodik on Tuesday (January 17), blocking access to his assets and banning any U.S. national from doing business with him.
    "These sanctions were not imposed by the United States, these sanctions were made by those who lost elections in the U.S.," Dodik told reporters in Banja Luka.
    Dodik is president of the autonomous Serb region Republika Srpska, which was created by the U.S.-brokered 1995 Dayton accords he is accused of trying to block.
    He has come under fire from foreign officials for advocating the region's secession from Bosnia, statements that have stirred tension among the ethnic groups who fought the 1992-95 war that was ended by the Dayton agreement. More than 100,000 people died in the war.
    Claire Bodonyi, the French ambassador to Bosnia, said other European Union member states would decide whether to follow the lead of the United States in the coming weeks.
    Dodik said his region has been "under attack of the arrogant outgoing U.S. administration which is pro-Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and militarist and anti-Serb".
    "(U.S. ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina) Cormack is a persona non grata in the Serb Republic, I request that (Igor) Crnadak (Bosnia's foreign minister) declares her a persona non grata in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I expect that the new government in the U.S. recalls her from Bosnia and Herzegovina and to press criminal charges against her," Dodik said.
    He said he hoped President-elect Donald Trump's administration would bring about changes in U.S. foreign policy: "I expect that the new administration in the U.S. and its new policies will bring significant changes here. I expect Mrs. Cormack (the U.S. ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina) to leave and to never come back. I expect that with the new U.S. ambassador who will be sent by the new administration I will have very successful cooperation."
    The Dayton peace treaty left Bosnia divided between the Serb Republic and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, which are linked by a weak central government.
    Divisions have deepened since Jan. 9, when the Serb Republic pressed ahead with its own Statehood Day celebrations, defying a constitutional court ban.
    Last week, the Bosnian Serb government halted contact with Bosnia's top international peace envoy, demanding an apology for what it called insulting remarks about their disputed national holiday.
    Bosnia's security minister, Dragan Mektic, called on Dodik to resign, saying that U.S. sanctions against him were "humiliating for Republika Srpska."
    "In regard of the president of the Serb Republic Milorad Dodik I keep wondering where is the end of this economical and political downfall where we are now and where he (Dodik) is taking us with the policies that have an epilogue like this," Mektic said in Sarajevo.
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