Members of the US Congress expressed concern over the actions of BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik in their response to a letter in which Samir Becic, a Bosnian living in the US, urged them to help resolve the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Becic, a prominent fitness instructor living in Houston, sent the letter amid what many argue is the biggest political crisis Bosnia has faced since the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement ended the war in the country.
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At the centre of the crisis is the initiative of Dodik, who is also the leader of the ruling party in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, to withdraw the semi-autonomous region from numerous state institutions. The RS would, according to his announcements, form its own institutions that would work separately from the state. This includes, among others, the army, tax authority and judicial institutions.
U.S. representative for Missouri's second congressional district, Ann Wagner, responded to Becic’s letter saying that she is proud to represent the largest population of Bosnians in the country.
“Today, deepening divisions in Bosnia, fueled by the reckless secession threats by Bosnian Serb politicians like Milorad Dodik, pose perhaps the gravest threat to Balkan stability. It worries me tremendously to see Bosnian Serb nationalists, in coordination with the ruthless Putin regime, working to roll back the progress Bosnia has made over the past several years. I cannot imagine the heartache my constituents must have felt when Dodik denied the horrifying genocide committed by Serb troops against Bosniak Muslims at Srebrenica, or when he threatens to lead the dissolution of Bosnia. These actions are offensive to those who lost loved ones in the Bosnian War and they are profoundly dangerous to Bosnia’s future as a unified, multiethnic state,” Wagner wrote.
She noted that, on October 29, 2021, she questioned State Department officials during a hearing in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs about the Biden administration’s plans to use sanctions in response to the situation in BiH and that she was pleased to see such sanctions imposed on Dodik in January.
“As your Member of Congress, I will continue to fight to ensure the United States will not tolerate actions that endanger Bosnian stability and prosperity. I will always stand in solidarity with the Bosnian community and will do everything in my power to ensure the heinous and despicable actions that precipitated the Bosnian Was are not repeated.”
US Congress Member Pete Sessions noted in his response that his country is “a great friend” to BiH.
“First, I want to commend you for your dedication to the City of Houston and your promotion of those American values we hold so dearly. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States will always support those values of freedom wholeheartedly,” he wrote.
Sessions noted that, following the Bosnian war, the US and its allies, including the European Union, recognised the territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH with the 1995 Dayton Accords.
“Nothing will change that fact, and we stand with you,” he added.
Sessions also wrote that Dodik “has been and will continue to be condemned for his corrupt actions and mission to delegitimise the Dayton Accords” and also noted that, in January, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson recognised Dodik’s “dangerous decision-making.”
“We in Washington remember the devastation of the Yugoslav Wars and its enormous cost of human lives. We will do everything necessary to avoid such a tragedy again. Therefore, I will send a letter from my office to the Secretary (Antony) Blinken, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar, and inform them of our support for the Dayton Accords,” he wrote.
Congressman Troy E. Nehls noted in his response that many have voiced concern regarding the situation in BiH.
“Many argue the United States must again step in to halt Milorad Dodik’s efforts to reform the army of Republika Srpska and his subsequent attempts at secession. Please rest assured I will keep your views in mind as Congress considers future policy options,” he wrote.
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