Milorad Dodik is a veritable expert when it comes to attacking the Bosnian state. In recent months, the president of Republika Srpska (RS) has been accelerating the secession of Serb-majority Bosnia and Herzegovina. State institutions should be stripped of their powers. The state Supreme Court’s decision should cease to apply to RS. On January 9, Prime Minister Dodik launched celebrations to mark the holiday previously deemed unconstitutional by Bosnia’s Constitutional Court, with paramilitary groups and President Putin’s Night Wolves taking part in the celebrations. Secession is a major theme of Dodik’s propaganda, even raising the prospect of a new war.
For Dodik and his Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), nationalist aspirations are by no means the only issue at stake here. The Bosnian Serb leadership uses its position of power primarily as a lucrative source of income. Families and party members have been siphoning funds from the state budget for years, with no repercussions from the country’s legal system.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Plunder of public resources by ethno-nationalist clans
The success story of Dodik’s son Igor and daughter Gorica is a prime example. According to the newspaper’s investigation, the two men have ties to Prointer, which has awarded public contracts worth about 196 million convertible marks ($108 million) in recent years. business-oriented media outlet Capital; Although Mr. Dodik has repeatedly questioned the existence of the Bosnian state through his (highly publicized) statements and actions, he and his family have amassed vast amounts of wealth through public contracts with the very same state. .
Other interesting topics
Europe needs to ‘organize’ in case US cuts aid to Kiev: Macron
Tens of billions of dollars in U.S. aid have been sent to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, but Republican lawmakers have been reluctant to continue supporting Kiev.
In an effort to shut down the “patronage network” that made this possible, US authorities added Dodik’s children and their companies to a sanctions list in late October 2023. The companies are mainly sponsored by Republika Srpska’s public authorities and have a de facto monopoly in some areas, said Ivana Korajlić, head of Transparency International’s Bosnia office.
Since the 1995 Dayton Accords, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been politically and economically dominated by three ethnically centered power blocs, all of which were involved in wartime deals and crimes even before the peace agreement was signed. . As in Dodik’s childhood, the ethno-nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Bosniak Party of Democratic Action (SDA) are helping themselves with lucrative state contracts. There are very few jobs that either of these blocks are given without having a say in who gets it. Ethnic clans act as if they own the nation.
politics and business interests
Systematic exploitation thus became a central motif of Bosnia’s political system. It’s always the same pattern. The alleged “national interests” of the three ethnic blocs are tied to private and political party-related business dealings. The result is that the business model of a small force in one of Europe’s poorest countries flourishes, to the detriment of the state and the public at large.
The clan has proven to be very ingenious in plundering the country’s resources, and the theft of entire forests is a particularly provocative example, especially in an era of climate change. It is estimated that 2 million cubic meters of wood are stolen from Bosnia’s forests every year, according to Anes Podic of the Sarajevo-based environmental group Eko Aksia. For example, timber theft on Mount Jahorina, near the town of Père and known as the host of the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, can be seen from a distance. Environmentalists say the involvement of senior politicians allowed the perpetrators to get away with such a large-scale criminal act.
But Bosnia and Herzegovina’s political leaders are not the only ones involved in the predatory overexploitation of the country’s resources; increasingly, international companies are also participating. Adriatic Metals, for example, is preparing a large-scale mining operation in the small mountain town of Vales, near the capital Sarajevo. The London-based company’s investments have been the subject of criticism for months. The company’s Valles project is the subject of an open letter sent by five environmental groups to the ambassadors of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway, expressing support for the proposed mining project and even praising its “sustainability.” Was. Observers on the ground take a different view. Environmentalists working together to fight the massive project say the mining project is not sustainable and is endangering landscapes that should be protected.
Gold rush atmosphere – no care for flora and fauna
Valles and its surrounding forests are considered important habitat for wildlife such as bears and wolves. Activists complain that trees are being cut down along forested areas and point out that authorities have changed existing land-use plans to prepare for mining activities. In this sense, the forest area at risk due to the project is larger than calculated in the project documents, reports Professor Samir Remes of the NGO Eco Forum Zenica. The main theme of Semes’ criticism is the lack of transparency regarding planned mining activities. Officially, the plan is to extract zinc, lead, barite and silver.
Environmental groups lament that local communities will pay a high price. Biodiversity and nature, including protected virgin forests, will be sacrificed in order to extract mineral resources. Professor Dalibor Varian from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Sarajevo determined that the animals have already left the area as a result of preparatory work for the project. Vegetation changed and drinking water, including water from springs in the immediate vicinity of the mine, became contaminated. “This region is turning into an industrial desert,” forestry experts warn.
A report by the internationally active NGO Bankwatch came to a similar conclusion, with NGO leader Pippa Gallop complaining that 3,000 square meters of forest had been “accidentally” logged in the “wrong places”. BankWatch also criticized the role of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the project. The EBRD bought a stake in the mining company Adriatic Metals, ignoring documented environmental problems. Bankwatch sees this as a clear violation of the principles set out in the EBRD’s own environmental and social policy.
Caption: The Priva River in Bosnia where gold was discovered.
Exorbitant profits can be expected
But the sheen of exorbitant profit prospects is overshadowing this problematic practice. Adriatic Metals’ share price has soared 750% since 2018, according to mining investor information portal Miningscout.de. The hype around mineral resources is in full swing, and international companies are sniffing out lucrative opportunities in other parts of Bosnia as well. Mining Scout announced in early 2023 that “incredible amounts of gold have been discovered along the Priva River” and noted that “the mood of a gold rush is in the air in the Balkans.” According to the news portal, the Balkans are becoming a “hotspot” for new raw materials.
Meanwhile, few heed environmentalists’ calls for compliance with international treaties on the protection of nature and the environment. Bosnian activists said the diplomat’s visit sent an unmistakable message that criticism of planned large-scale projects like Vales Island is not welcome. In autumn 2023, Adriatic Metals ignored a request by the Bern Convention Secretariat to force the Bosnian authorities to suspend operations in Vales pending a judicial review of the environmental activists’ claims.
Indeed, in other contexts, representatives of Western countries, who criticize the country’s corrupt structures and regularly call for measures to combat corruption, are now risking sought-after resources to support local residents. and those who are not. There are rare corrupt politicians. Bosnia ranks 100th in Transparency International’s 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, putting it in the same league as Malawi and Sierra Leone.
The sleepy small town of Vares in Bosnia is just one of many places that have attracted the attention of companies, mainly European companies. There’s a reason for this. In March 2023, the European Commission published proposals for the Critical Materials Act, which aims to secure the supply of critical raw materials for supply chains and production processes. Brussels wants greater autonomy in the extraction of raw materials and, above all, a reduction in the EU’s dependence on China in this area.
Is the EU sacrificing the Balkans on the altar of decarbonisation?
The European Union’s strategic realignment is already having far-reaching negative effects on countries in south-eastern Europe, where, in addition to environmental damage, metal mining poses serious risks to local communities. The fact that the extracted raw materials are intended for use in the transition to more climate-friendly mobility does not make it any less unpleasant. The portal Balkan Green Energy News pointed out this contradiction in the summer of 2022 and asked: “Does the EU need to make sacrifices?” [the] Is the Balkan Peninsula to secure resources for the energy transition? ”
Environmentalist Lemes suspects that lithium also plays a role in the Vales project, although this has not been officially confirmed. Lithium is used in the production of car batteries, so the e-mobility boom has seen a surge in demand for the precious material. Until now, lithium mining has been concentrated in Australia, Chile, China and Argentina, which have the largest known lithium reserves. The spotlight is now on the Balkans’ hitherto untapped reserves.
Criticism of Western double standards has steadily grown in Bosnia. While the EU places great emphasis on environmental protection and biodiversity, many investors in the Balkans have the impression that there is not just one EU investor and that EU investors are willing to show interest. have. They turn a blind eye to these issues. Indeed, the poorly developed democratic structures of the Balkan countries and the fact that the main political actors in those countries have minimal interest in environmental protection issues make it easy for Western actors to pursue their economic interests. I have to.
Marion Craske is a political scientist and public relations professional who has worked nationally and internationally for decades on right-wing extremism, nationalism, and coming to terms with the past. She also focuses on the Balkan wars and the challenges of nation-states and nation-building in post-conflict situations. Previously, she worked in DPA, SPIEGEL, ARD She worked in television and most recently was Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Reprinted with permission of the Heinrich Boll Foundation for Green Politics. Click here for the original text.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Kyiv Post.