Raffi Gregorian, the UN director for the fight against terrorism, is currently visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina where he met with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, and the State Minister of Security, and planned meetings with BiH officials for tomorrow. Gregorian served in BiH as the former Deputy High Representative and supervisor for Brcko District.

Even today, many people remember his views and decisions and wish for exactly such an approach by international officials in solving the Bosnian crises.

In the last convocation of the BiH Parliament, one of the MPs, Denis Zvizdic, called for the suspension of salaries because his colleagues from the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) blocked the work by not coming to the sessions.

It was Raffi Gregorian, in the role of Brcko District supervisor, who made such a decision in 2007.

He issued an order immediately suspending the payment of salaries and all allowances to members of the Brcko District Government and representatives in the Assembly due to the violation of the District Statute by not adopting the budget for 2008 within the stipulated period. He made a similar decision in 2009. The suspension applied to representatives in the Brcko District Assembly, but also to the Mayor in a technical mandate.

“At war” with Dodik

Raffi Gregorian was once attacked by Milorad Dodik, who announced a lawsuit against him. The reason for this was Gregorian’s attempt to submit to BiH the Prosecutor's Office and the State Agency for Investigation and Protection (SIPA) documentation on the possible illegal actions of certain officials of the then Republika Srpska Government. In 2008, as the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik waged a war with certain “Western” officials, including Gregorian.

In an interview with Nacional from 2008, Gregorian stated that “those advising Dodika to start groundless battles against the international community are only harming the Republika Srpska (RS) interests. There is also no point in receiving fabricated information or accepting advice from people connected to the former military structures with which the Serbian authorities are fighting in the search for Ratko Mladic. The Government of Serbia saw and recognized the danger of such people for its democracy. That is why I’m surprised that the current RS officials can allow themselves to be associated with such elements that they themselves previously rejected”. (National, 2008.)

Gregorian assessed Milorad Dodik as one of the main obstacles to Bosnia’s European path, accusing him even then of secessionist aspirations.

Before leaving his position, Gregorian accused certain members of the Peace Implementation Council that of allowing Dodik's arrogant behavior “to go without consequences” due to the absence of a concrete reaction.

Milorad Dodik called Gregorian paranoid, saying that in a psychotic state he imagines certain things. While Gregorian named Dodik as a man associated with organized crime. He left his position in the hope that the then Chief State Prosecutor Milorad Barasin would indict him. However, Barasin himself did not see the end of his mandate in the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

Interview with N1: “I feel frustration”

In an interview with N1 in 2016, Raffi Gregorian cited the defence reform as a positive example of what was done in BiH, in which he himself participated.

“It was a very difficult period, a lot of hard work. But we had an exceptional partnership with leaders from all over BiH, public support, and we created a unique Armed Forces of BiH. I am disappointed that the Law on Defense was not fully implemented,” said Gregorian.

He then pointed out that he believes in the European and NATO path of BiH, despite the fact that he feels “a lot of frustration, hopelessness, that there is no way to overcome the current political situation.”

Gregorian is meeting with the members of the Joint Commission for Defense and Security of BiH on Thursday.