From www.tol.cz
++
The Bosnian president faces possible suspension for his involvement in
illegal dealings with Iraq.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina--The government of Republika Srpska,
the Bosnian Serb-controlled entity of Bosnia, on 17 March released
another official report
examining the illegal export of military parts to Iraq by the entity▓s
Orao company, again denying that any current authorities were involved.
But this time, sources say that the Republika Srpska government▓s
refusal to claim responsibility and name those officials involved in
breaking United Nations sanctions
against Iraq is prompting the international community to step in to
punish the offenders, beginning with the chairman of Bosnia▓s rotating
presidency, Mirko Sarovic.
The international community--led by the Office of the High
Representative (OHR) and the U.S. Embassy--had given the Republika
Srpska government until 17 March to
issue a revised report on the Orao affair and to name those government
officials responsible. The initial report, which denied any government
involvement, was released in
January.
Republika Srpska authorities made the deadline, but the report failed to
include the information the international community demanded. On 17
March, Republika Srpska
President Dragan Cavic presented the report to the public, once more
denying that any government authorities were involved in Orao▓s
exporting of military parts to Iraq.
Cavic said that no current authorities had any knowledge of the illegal
dealings.
⌠I am sure that none of our civil authorities are responsible for
exporting weapons to Iraq,■ Cavic told the Sarajevo news agency ONASA on
18 March.
Though Cavic failed to mention any names of authorities involved in the
scandal, he did concede that he has evidence that a delegation from
Republika Srpska visited
Iraq in 1999 and 2000. However, Cavic said that he has no information
about the purpose of those visits, saying that the delegation reported
only to military officials in
Belgrade, Serbia.
Cavic refused to name members of that delegation or to comment on how
the Republika Srpska Defense Ministry, which would have been involved in
issuing the
delegation▓s travel documents, could have no information about the
visit.
So far, the international community has not officially responded to the
revised report. However, a source inside the OHR, who asked to remain
anonymous, told TOL on
18 March that High Representative to Bosnia Paddy Ashdown is indeed
frustrated with Republika Srpska authorities▓ refusal to name names.
The source said it is likely that Ashdown will remove current Bosnian
President Sarovic--also a high-ranking member of the nationalist Serbian
Democratic Party
(SDS)--from power.
When Orao was illegally exporting military parts to Iraq, Sarovic was
president of Republika Srpska and the commander in chief of the entity▓s
armed forces. He was
also part of Orao▓s top management.
It is obvious, TOL▓s source in the OHR said, that Republika Srpska
officials have no intention of naming or punishing those responsible for
the Orao affair. He said that
Ashdown may take the matter into his own hands, and that Sarovic may not
be the only one who will end up suspended. The source said that
additional suspensions
will likely begin in early April after the 28 March Peace Implementation
Council (PIC) session concludes in Brussels.
Though the OHR did not go public with the pending suspensions, the
details were leaked to the local media, prompting harsh reactions from
officials in Republika
Srpska. According to local media, the OHR is also planning to suspend
Bosnian Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic, the former prime minister of
Republika Srpska.
In response to the rumors in the local media, Cavic told the Banja Luka
news agency SRNA on 21 March that the suspension of two high-ranking
officials from
Republika Srpska would create a political crisis in the entity and once
more call into question the objectivity of the international community
in Bosnia.
Cavic said that such suspensions would only prove that the international
community has ulterior motives and is using the Orao affair as an excuse
to get rid of politicians
it doesn▓t like. ⌠If the international community suspends those persons
without a proper investigation, it would mean that the international
community has something else
against them,■ said Cavic.
Milorad Dodik, the leader of the opposition Independent Social Democrats
(SNSD) and former Republika Srpska prime minister, told the Banja Luka
daily Nezavisne
novine on 22 March that he is certain that Sarovic was aware of the
illegal dealings with Iraq.
Dodik accused Cavic of skirting responsibility by playing on nationalist
sentiments with his statements that the international community only
works against Bosnian
Serbs. ⌠That is just their [SDS] political game. The SDS knows who is
responsible and is hiding that information because those involved in the
affair are from the party,■
he said. Dodik also said that Cavic▓s call for further investigation is
⌠ridiculous■ given the fact that the government has already had half a
year to conduct an investigation
into the matter.
The Orao affair first became public in September last year after the
U.S. government warned the Bosnian Foreign Ministry that Republika
Srpska▓s Orao factory had
been exporting military parts to Iraq, despite UN sanctions.
At the time, Republika Srpska officials categorically denied any
connections between Iraq and Orao. A couple days after the denials,
however, international
peacekeepers raided Orao and discovered a handful of documents proving
that, together with some Serbian companies, Orao had long been dealing
with Iraq.
In January this year, under pressure from the international community,
the government of Republika Srpska produced its first report about the
Orao affair, conceding that
some military officials were involved in exporting military parts to
Iraq, and that those officials had either resigned or been suspended.
Outraged, the international
community then gave Republika Srpska a second chance to name those in
the government who had a hand in the affair before stepping in to
resolve the issue itself.
--by Anes Alic
Related story:
Week in Review: The Iraqi Affair Revisited
Republika Srpska authorities issue their final report on the illegal
export of weapons parts to Iraq but avoid punishing those responsible.
by Dragan Stanimirovic
7 - 13 January 2003
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