President Milanović Ends Working Visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina: Croats in BiH want their fundamental rights

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović ended his working visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday by visiting the towns of Tomislavgrad and Livno and holding talks with the local authorities.

After meeting with the local authorities in Livno, President Milanović said that in the area he visited people are working hard and investing. “They are ineradicable. Is it easy? It isn’t. Overall, I am even a bit impressed by how much effort and energy was invested in this town, impressive,” said President Milanović.

Journalists asked about yesterday’s meeting of the President of the Republic with the representatives of the Croatian National Assembly of BiH, specifically whether there is a compromise solution on the Election Law that would be acceptable to both the Serb and Bosniak sides. “They have a great deal of fighting spirit. They will have my support in everything they do because what they are doing is basic, small, the foundation, it can’t go below that. They are trying to push them out of the House of Peoples, which is a body based on parity that ensures the equality of the three constituent peoples. That is very important, it’s not superficial, it is an existential matter for the Croats and the other two ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbs and the Bosniaks,” President Milanović replied.

He commented on statements by individuals from Zagreb that Croats should consider accepting minority status in Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying that the treaty or legal framework of the Dayton Agreement, including its annexes, maps and borders, is an international legal document that has the same weight as a ratified treaty. “Such treaties are deeply rooted and cannot be changed. Such treaties change only in times of great turbulence, such as wars. After one war, this agreement was reached and it will be valid forever, until the next adversity, which we don’t want. It is a deeply rooted contract and cannot be changed at the academic level or by petty theft, which is being done to Croats in recent years in the elections for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Presidency and, more importantly, the House of Peoples, which enables Croats to always act in their own defense and invoke the vital interest protection clause with the 17 ethnic Croat representatives, who should be elected by Croats. This is also attempted to be stolen from them in a perfidious way. The seats designated for Croats in the House of Peoples are being taken by people who aren’t Croats or are lying that they are and they are elected by another ethnic group. That is the same template as in the Presidency, the same story. And that has to come to an end,” the President asserted.

Asked by journalists whether it is realistic to expect the adoption of the draft amendments to the Election Law already this year, President Milanović replied: “Of course it is. I don’t know what the political leadership of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina will do, but they will have my support for all means except those that go beyond normal communication and political pressure by peaceful means, because we have seen it once and don’t want to see it again. And it was not provoked by the Croats, who mostly defended what is theirs, with some deviations, so they are doing that now and that is about their minimal rights. And political science professors from Zagreb, who are paid from the state budget and talk nonsense, let them explain things to their neighbours. They should explain why they are cynically suggesting to Croats that they accept minority status in Bosnia and Herzegovina. So, the same rights as minorities in Croatia. Minorities in Croatia have rights that minorities in neighbouring countries can dream of, except in Slovenia, from representation to other status issues.”

Commenting on the reactions of some political leaders from Sarajevo, who said that he is an unwanted guest and a cause of political instability, the President said: “They are the cause of political instability, nervousness and misfortune in BiH. They are doing exactly what Haris Silajdžić warned about, 15 years ago when he said: ‘If you continue like that, you will make the Croats abhor this country that is their homeland’. I am a guest here, a foreigner, I am a Croat from Croatia, I say that as an act of good faith. I am a guest here to those people who welcomed me. My hosts are the democratic authorities and the Franciscans.”

Responding to journalists’ questions, President Milanović commented on media reports about his visit to Sarajevo in 2010, when he gave his support to Željko Komšić at a SDP pre-election rally who was then a candidate for the BiH Presidency from the ranks of the Croatian people. “That isn’t a change in policy but rather a policy of maturing and realising someone’s false nature. I see that you are blackmailing Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina who are few and far between, but not weak. They are a robust political community of people who want their fundamental rights, symbolically in the Presidency and practically in the House of Peoples, and not for members of another ethnic group to present themselves as Croats and enter that same House of Peoples and vote as they’re told. It’s a scam, it’s unfair. I haven’t changed, but they are despicable. I am proud to have been bold enough to go to the central square in Sarajevo in 2010,” President Milanović underscored.

In Tomislavgrad, President Milanović met with the Head of the Municipality of Tomislavgrad Ivan Buntić and the Prime Minister of Herzeg-Bosnia County Ivan Vukadin. During his stay in Tomislavgrad, the President visited the Franciscan Monastery and the Tomislavgrad Museum, where he viewed the masterpieces of Vlaho Bukovac and the monastery library.

In Livno, he met with the Mayor of Livno Darko Čondrić and afterwards held a working meeting with the Prime Minister of Herzeg-Bosnia County Ivan Vukadin and his associates. The President also visited the Franciscan Museum and the Gorica Livno Gallery, where he took part in an expert guided tour of the Gabriel Jurkić collection.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan