BOSNIA - RESIGNATION PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO DODIK'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001051 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE (HOH/FOOKS),NSC FOR BRAUN E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - RESIGNATION PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO DODIK'S CABINET Classified By: Michael J. Murphy. Reason 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In late May, a senior advisor to Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik resigned from her position as Chief of the Cabinet and turned in her party membership card. In a private exchange with us, Srebrenka Golic asserted that corruption and incompetence among Dodik's senior advisors had created "chaos in the RS cabinet." She claimed that RS cabinet ministers and senior Dodik advisors are involved in blatant malfeasance, and that Dodik himself was either unaware or unconcerned by these activities. Golic singled out Dodik's foreign policy advisor Gordan Milosevic as incompetent and corrupt, and political advisor Slavko Mitrovic as a Karadzic-era Serb nationalist. She said that Dodik "is not the same person that he was five or even three years ago," and that he is growing more nationalist under the influence of hard-line advisors, including Orthodox bishop Vladika Grigorije. END SUMMARY DODIK'S CABINET CHIEF RESIGNS AND QUITS PARTY -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In late May, Srebrenka Golic, a senior adviser to Republica Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, resigned from her position as Chief of the Cabinet. At the same time, she turned in her Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) membership card. Golic had been a deeply loyal advisor to Dodik, and her resignation came as shock to observers and the RS public. She has been a close contact of the Banja Luka Branch Office. ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AND INCREASING NATIONALISM -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) On May 23, we had an extended discussion with a distraught Golic, who said that the primary reasons for her resignation were professional. She said that she had grown increasingly frustrated with, "chaos in the cabinet," and that she was being, "shut out, sidelined and humiliated." Golic complained about uneducated, incompetent advisors recently hired by Dodik. She added that atmosphere in the cabinet was charged with, "evil" and "intrigue." Golic alleged that Dodik's key advisors were involved in blatant financial corruption, but was very careful not to implicate Dodik himself any crimes. She claimed that she herself was, "innocent of all criminal acts," but alleged that most of Dodik's advisors have enriched themselves personally far beyond their official salaries. She said that she refused to sign any illegal documents that various ministers attempted to put before her, and that she did her best to prevent criminals and war criminals from accessing Dodik. Golic said that she often urged Dodik to pay more attention to the sudden and unexplained wealth that has accumulated in the hands of his advisors, but that Dodik refused to listen or did not care. She implied that her own refusal to participate in corruption left her increasingly on the outside of Dodik's inner circle. ¶4. (C) Golic expressed disappointment over what she described as increasing Serb nationalism within both SNSD and the RS government. She said that Dodik, "is not the same person that he was five or even three years ago," and he is allowing himself to be led astray by his advisors. She blamed Trebinje-based Serb Orthodox bishop Vladika Grigorije, among others, for Dodik's increasing nationalism, describing Grigorije as a "dangerous liar." Golic described the resulting resurgence of nationalist rhetoric and emotions among Serbs as reminiscent of 1992. LOYAL TO A FAULT -------------- ¶5. (C) A self-described "Yugoslav" from a mixed marriage, Golic told us that as a non-Serb, she felt, increasingly unwelcome in both the Cabinet and the party. She said that, since her husband and her son are Serbs, she feels as though the Serbs are her people, and that she shares their destiny. Golic told us that she had been naive to put so much faith into SNSD, since joining as the party's 17th member back in ¶1996. Despite her resignation from her position and the party, it was clear that Golic remains loyal to Dodik. Her only criticism of Dodik was to allege that Dodik lied to her SARAJEVO 00001051 002 OF 002 when, in two separate administrations, he promised her a position as a minister in his cabinet, yet both times failed to follow through. THE REMAINING INNER CIRCLE -------------- ¶6. (C) Golic focused much of her ire on Gordan Milosevic, Dodik's foreign policy advisor. She described him as one of many young, new advisors who were hired because they speak English, but have no academic credentials. (NOTE: Milosevic has only a high school education. END NOTE) She said that Milosevic had to borrow money for cigarettes when he was originally hired as a note-taker, but had recently finished construction of a large new house and purchased a new car. Golic was also critical of Dodik's key advisor Slavko Mitrovic, describing him as dangerous and a bad influence on Dodik. She said that Mitrovic, who describes himself as an unpaid advisor to the PM, has also contributed greatly to Dodik's increasing nationalism and has drafted most, if not all, of the fiery op-ed pieces and columns that frequently appear under Dodik's name in the RS media. Golic claimed that Mitrovic was a member of a paramilitary unit associated with Radovan Karadzic during the war. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) Golic's allegations of corruption in Dodik's cabinet echo similar accounts that are increasingly circulating among local observers and in the press. Golic's resignation and her observations also lend credence to claims we have heard from others that Dodik's outlook and approach to politics has changed, and that he is not the pragmatic, social democratic politician he once was. In other words, that his nationalist rhetoric is more than just rhetoric. This may be, as Golic claims, because he is increasingly surrounded by a tightening circle of hard-line and corrupt advisors. It may also by a symptom of an arrogance and desire for total control that became manifest after his party's landslide victory in the 2006 October elections. More than one RS political observer has remarked to us on the similarities between Dodik's autocratic leadership of the RS and Putin's reign in Russia. ENGLISH