US imposes sanctions on 3 people for organizing Bosnian Serb “National Day”

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions against three people for helping organize “unconstitutional” celebrations of Bosnian Serb identity that undermined “peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Bosnia has long been governed by a dysfunctional administrative system created under an agreement called the Dayton Agreement, which divided the country into two institutions – the Muslim-Croat Federation and what is known as the Republika Srpska. RS) Bosnian entity.

Both entities were granted a large degree of autonomy and were tied together by a weak central government.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the three people sanctioned on Wednesday were involved in “executing and organizing ‘Republic of Srpska Day’ commemorations” on January 9 in Serbia.

The incident occurred “in defiance” of a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court, which found the ruling “unconstitutional” because it violated the “constitutional obligation of non-discrimination” by giving priority only to Serbs.

“The United States is deeply concerned about continued attempts to undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, two important institutions for the region,” said Brian Bryan, the U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Peace and stability play an important role,” Nelson said in a statement.

“We will continue to hold accountable those who seek to foment division and pursue their own political agenda at the expense of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he added.

The U.S. announcement follows a similar decision by British authorities on January 15 to sanction marketing agencies involved in organizing the event.

The “Republic of Srpska Day” event was designated as a public holiday, and about 3,000 people marched in Banja Luka, the administrative center of Republika Srpska.

Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik attended the event along with other officials from the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Ambassador to Bosnia.