The Ambassador of BiH to Serbia, Aleksandar Vranješ, stated that it is clear that the US Embassy in Sarajevo, together with the British and German embassies, is conducting a hybrid war against Republika Srpska on behalf of their respective countries. This is evident through their undiplomatic behavior, sanctions, and political pressure. He added that Srpska can and must resist such actions.
“All the elements that are part of this form of unconventional warfare are noticeable in the activities of these embassies: economic sanctions against officials of Republika Srpska, propaganda activities, and spreading false news through paid media, cyber operations, eavesdropping, espionage activities, and the like,” Vranješ stated.
He explained that these activities are conducted both publicly and secretly on BiH soil, highlighting that while the public will be informed when sanctions are announced, they will not know the methods used by embassy representatives to obtain, collect, and process data, who their collaborators and informants were, whether they illegally used telecommunications infrastructure, or conducted unauthorized surveillance.
“It is known that all these embassies, besides accredited representatives of intelligence services, have a whole range of undercover operatives hiding behind diplomatic positions such as first or second secretaries, various attachés, who are actually agents of their services with clear tasks against Republika Srpska,” Vranješ pointed out.
He suggested that recent statements about alleged financial problems in Republika Srpska, accusations of corrupt activities, and denouncements of top officials should be viewed through this lens.
“Spreading false news is one method of hybrid warfare that Western services have been skillfully using for decades, and this is also present in the activities of these embassies,” Vranješ emphasized.
In this context, he noted that the US Ambassador to BiH, Michael Murphy, has stepped outside the bounds of diplomatic conduct, behaving as if he were leading an occupation administration in BiH.
“Remember, he recently stated that Milorad Dodik’s plan for a peaceful separation is a dangerous fantasy that poses a threat to the core interests of the US in BiH. Murphy thus admitted that his task is to protect these core US interests in BiH, rather than bilateral cooperation and representing his country based on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” Vranješ noted.
He added that it is apparent that the neo-colonial perception of BiH as a US interest zone, where they define all issues and decisions of importance for the functioning of this state community, is no longer hidden.
Vranješ proposed that there is a way for Republika Srpska to resist the hybrid operations of these embassies, which involves reducing their operational capabilities.
“One possibility is to introduce a new criminal offense in the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska, which would sanction any communication with representatives of embassies, international organizations, and foreign countries that the National Assembly of Republika Srpska defines as foreign organizations and individuals participating in activities against the constitutional, legal, and economic order of Republika Srpska,” Vranješ stressed.
He explained that this criminal offense would encompass any communication by officials, civil servants, representatives of local governments, directors of public companies, advisors in cabinets, and other officials in Republika Srpska and at the BiH level with organizations and individuals on the “blacklist” defined by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.
“We cannot punish a representative of the political department of the US Embassy for subversive activities on the territory of Republika Srpska, but we can punish our civil servants or appointed officials residing in Republika Srpska who in any way cooperate and communicate with the same representatives of certain embassies or organizations on the aforementioned list,” Vranješ said to Srna.
This, he said, would significantly reduce the operational capabilities of these “diplomats” and, consequently, their reach in hybrid actions against Republika Srpska.
“This would be our response to their attacks. Additionally, the National Assembly’s list would be public and transparent, including names and photos, making the wider public aware of it. This would also inform those citizens of Republika Srpska who are not covered by this criminal offense, such as representatives of the real sector, media, public figures, university professors, representatives of NGOs, and others,” Vranješ stated.
He noted that this approach would not limit the freedom of citizens but would build a method to defend the constitutional order from subversive activities of certain embassy representatives who do not respect the Vienna Convention and come to BiH with an agenda to undermine the foundations of Republika Srpska.
Source: RTRS
