Policy Documentation Center

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Policy 
Documentation 
Center Feature Article
Who is ﬁnancing the network of the Hague indicted
Radovan Karadzic?
International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies analysis
Looking for an individual and not a collective responsibility
The newest events in BiH are connected to the police reform and are opening and actualizing the question 
and the role of the High Representative in BiH and his ‘reformers’ – the national parties (SDS – The Serbian 
Democratic Party, SDA – The Party of the Democratic Action and HDZ – The Croatian Democratic Union), which 
he chose for his allies in the reforms that should have been implemented in BiH over the last few years. 
Through the recent phase of negotiations on the police reform it has been shown how fragile the political sta-
bility and partnership of the national parties in BiH is, which are instead of turning towards the future returning 
to the unsolved political questions that were opened by these parties in the far away year of 1990, immediately 
after the ﬁrst multi-party elections in BiH. From such extremely opposed conceptions the most tragic and most
unhappy conﬂict in the newer history of the Balkans was born, which took away from BiH more human lives
and caused other forms of suffering on a scale that hasn’t occurred in this country in no other previous war 
that passed through. The national parties in BiH, which were only momentarily and seemingly representing 
their reformist tendencies, remained exclusively tied to the program ideas from their start, which are based on 
the fact that none of them wishes in such a manner, nor the nation they represent, to see in their constituency 
members of other nations or to develop with them any form of common existence. 
The International Institute IFIMES believes that the national parties are for who knows which time repeating 
the test that is called the establishment of a reformed police in BiH according to the model of European coun-
tries. With the national parties BiH is being represented as a unsustainable community threatening that the 
stability, which was achieved in the last 10 years becomes threatened in a most serious manner. 
The International Institute IFIMES believes that the responsibility for such a situation lies primarily with the 
national parties and the international community as a whole and especially with the High Representative Lord 
Paddy Ashdown. He impatiently and with an unreal speed desires to at any cost fasten the process of the 
reforms in BiH by accepting that the support for realizing such planes would come from the national parties 
- the carriers of the most brutal destruction of BiH in the last decade of the previous century. It is needed to 
look for an individual and not a collective responsibility in the political processes in BiH.
The High Representative has with his activity caused an unbelievable fear among the lower local politicians and 
has especially among the national parties developed a spirit and a mentality of subordination, which is a dan-
gerous threat to the development of a democratic conscience and culture. The International Institute IFIMES 
estimates that the High Representative, in case he continues with such a practice, is going instead of a role of 
an architect for a different and newer BiH to leave behind at the end of his mandate and after departing from 
BiH a situation, which in the heads of the people, Bosnians and Herzegovinians is incomparably worse than 
the situation that existed at the beginning of his mandate, when he inherited a relatively peaceful and stable 
BiH from his predecessor Wolfgang Petrisch. 
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Who is ﬁnancing the network of those indicted in Haag and how?
The newest police reform has additionally complicated the political scene in BiH, from which a serious political 
crisis developed. A particularly speciﬁc turn was made by SDS, which has after years-long cooperative role
towards the international community decided to commence returning to their starting extreme positions. 
It is obvious that the conference of SDS held in March 2005, which many expected to see as a victory of reform 
forces ready to accept reform values in BiH society, was only a false dawn. Into the leadership of SDS old, anti-
Dayton cadres were returned, which were operating under the mentorship of the most wanted Haag indicted 
person Radovan Karadzic. Such is a case with the current vice-president of SDS Mladen Bosic from Brcko, who 
is known as a very close cadre to the top of Karadzic SDS from 1996 and 1997, when SDS under the leadership 
of Mladen Bosic in Brcko in the most brutal after-war demonstrations in BiH opposed the arbitrary decision 
concerning the Brcko District in BiH. His advance to the top of the party on the last conference of SDS Mladen 
Bosic and his supporters obviously had an important inﬂuence on the change of the general politics of SDS in
relation to the reforms – in this case the police reform, when everything the president of Republika Srpska and 
SDS Dragan Cavic did in this direction was undermined. 
Since by the decision of the High Representative all ﬁnancing of the SDS party from budget was stopped on all
the levels of the government, new understandings show that Mladen Bosic as the director of ‘Telecom Srpska’ 
in Brcko District BiH is in a most direct manner included into the web of secret ﬁnancing of the network of
the Haag indicted Radovan Karadzic – the facts are showing that from ‘Telecom Srpska’ and ‘Serbian Forests’ 
through different transactions via private companies and in other ways means are set aside to ﬁnance SDS and
according to the ﬁndings of the International Institute IFIMES also to ﬁnance the network of the hag indicted
people. The announcements at the time to perform revision of the business activities of public companies such 
as ‘Telecom Srpska’, ‘Serbian Forests’ and ‘Electro Company of the Republika Srpska’ are only conﬁrming the
similarities with the estimates to which IFIMES came through regularly following the situation in BiH. Now it 
is quite reasonable to expect an action from the High Representative and the Ofﬁce of the Public Prosecutor,
which by now in smaller cases intervened to replace the ofﬁcials and investigations were started by the Ofﬁce
of the Public Prosecutor. To this network we should also add ‘money laundering’ into which in addition to local 
subjects also companies and banks from neighboring states and even some EU countries are included. 
The International Institute IFIMES believes that the police reform is of utmost importance for the European 
future of EU and its outcome will primarily depend on the ability to come to an agreement between the national 
parties, most of all SDS and SDA on the issue of the character of the reforms and their outcome. For a possible 
failure of the reforms at this moment the responsibility has to be taken in addition to the national parties also 
their coalition partners PDP – The Party of Democratic progress and SzBiH – The Party for BiH, who jointly 
have to take responsibility for the isolation into which BiH and especially Republika Srpska are placed due to 
the lack of readiness to perform a police reform. 
The opposition parties in BiH are momentarily not playing an important role in the process of police reform, 
even though they have positively participated in an attempt to reach an agreement on the police reform. 
The International Institute IFIMES believes that the question of police reform can be solved only within the 
framework of the institutions of the system, where at the moment the most important role is being played by 
the ruling national parties SDS, SDA and HDZ, but also their satellites PDP and SzBiH. The national parties and 
especially SDS in Republika Srpska are trying to put the blame for blocking the police reform on the opposition 
parties by including them into a parallel dialogue, which was being for over ten months secretly held between 
themselves and the representatives of the international community. Due to the fear of taking the responsibil-
ity for the police reform, SDS is trying through the association of citizens and NGO’s, over which they have 
absolute control, such as the war veteran’s organization of Republika Srpska, to elude the responsibility for 
the necessary reform of the police. This is obviously a new perﬁdious way of abusing the citizens of RS, who
bear no guilt due to the supposed feeling of being threatened and the supposed solidarity with SDS and each 
time after such a situation pay an extremely high price. This is happening this time as well through the isola-
tion of SDS, which is going to hurt mostly the widest social classes, who live the hardest life in relation to the 
corrupted leadership of their national parties. 
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SDS is raising charges wishing to destroy the opposition in RS - Dodik, Djokic and Pavic
The indictment against Milorad Dodik, the president of SNSD – The Union of Independent Social Democrats, 
one of the leaders of the opposition is representing a ‘school’ case of trying to destroy the opposition. It is 
almost certain that the present opposition will form the government on the coming elections. SDS is trying by 
all means to discredit and destroy the opposition. First of all Milorad Dodik is in the indictment which includes 
more than 30 points accused for the period when he was performing the duty of the prime minister of RS. It is 
known that for most of the points of indictment political considerations existed, for which Milorad Dodik cannot 
bear any criminal responsibility. Later on an indictment was raised against Marko Pavic’ leader of DNS – The 
Democratic National Union, which is being accused of performing the supposed criminal acts while serving as 
a minister in the Government of RS. As to fully form the indictments against the leaders of the oppositions in 
the recent period we can observe a media campaign against Petar Djokic, the President of the Socialist party. 
Through the media campaign against Petar Djokic there is a desire to create an ambient for his discredita-
tion and by thus preparing the public for raising another unfounded indictment. The scenario of SDS is clear: 
discreditation and elimination of the opposition through raising the indictments and leading a media campaign 
against the leaders of the opposition. On such a behavior of SDS there is a need for the reaction of the High 
Representative and the Public Prosecutor of BiH, which should continue the investigation against SDS and 
their cadres connected to ﬁnancing the network of those indicted in Haag and the performed crime.
Through sophisticated methods SDS and their president Dragan Cavic succeeded completely to discredit and 
politically marginalize the party of PDP and Mladen Ivanic – who was until yesterday the most trusted coalition 
partner. 
Kiro Gligorov is most popular
In the present day complex situation in BiH more and more often arises the question of choosing a new High 
Representative or rather the special envoy of EU for BiH, who is going to help to stabilize BiH and its closer 
rapprochement based on reality to the EU and NATO. Recent visit of the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroed-
er to BiH is a clear sign that Germany wishes to have its own diplomat for the new High Representative or 
rather special envoy to BiH. In the meanwhile, experts on the situation in BiH who take into consideration the 
historical circumstances believe that Germany due to its negative role in the Second World War in BiH, and 
especially among the Serbs in BiH, cannot be accepted as a neutral actor in the current social processes in 
BiH. The same holds true also for France, whose representative would be accepted by the Croats and Bosniacs 
with disbelief. 
Data on the sample:
- sample: random in three stages
- size of the sample: 1.644 respondents (adult citizens of BiH of both sexes)
- methodology: telephone questioning
- period: 9th and 10th of June 2005
- level of reliability: 95%
- control: on 10% of the sample
- standard deviation: +/-3
- territory: Republika Srpska, Federation of BiH and Brcko District of BiH
Whom would you as a citizen of BiH wish to have as a new High representative or rather spe-
cial envoy to BiH?
Milan Kucan (SLO)  22.10%
Kiro Gligorov (MK)  23.60%
Hans Koshnik (D)            16.40%
Bernard Bajolet (F)            11.90%
Nobody             19.30%
Others               6.70%
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On the last congress of SDS (May 2005) Sulejman Tihic was again chosen for the president and has announced 
a transformation of SDA from a national party to a party of political center of national type in which there is 
going to be place for all the citizens of BiH regardless of nationality, religion, etc. But, to the most important 
organs in the party only Bosniacs were elected!?
On the last congress of HDZ BiH (June 2005) Dragan Covic was chosen as a president, who was a replaced 
member of the Presidency of BiH and was accused of several criminal deeds. By his choice HDZ BiH entered a 
deep crisis with great danger that through singular accusations against criminal functionaries of HDZ a ‘crimi-
nalization’ of the Croat people in BiH would occur. In such a situation a positive role could be played through 
parties with Croatian identity in BiH, which would well organized and connected be able to represent a serious 
alternative to the present criminalized HDZ BiH. 
Premature elections?
The International Institute IFIMES believes that due to the process of joining the EU and NATO in the present 
political situation in BiH it would not be good if premature elections would be called for and considers that it 
is necessary to commence a procedure of changing the election law, which would be changed before the start 
of regular parliamentary elections planned for autumn 2006. 
Ljubljana, on the 15th of June 2005 
                                            
       
       
 


Who is financing the network of the Hague indicated Radovan Karadzic?

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