President Milanović in Vitez: Nothing can be agreed in Bosnia and Herzegovina without the consent of all three constituent peoples

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović is on a working visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina at the invitation of the University of Mostar. The President began his three-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the town of Vitez by holding a working meeting with representatives of the political, business and cultural milieu of central Bosnia.

In a statement ahead of the meeting to members of the press, President Milanović said that he had come to Bosnia and Herzegovina to talk, and when asked by journalists to comment on the reactions to his absence from the commemoration in Potočari, he replied: “I was at the commemoration in Potočari as Prime Minister. I am the same man, I represent the same state and I will probably go there again. I hope no one has interpreted this as my underestimation of the victims because that is the opposite of what I have been doing and saying in life. Once again, this is a terrible thing.”

“I will not pay an official visit until we resolve some issues,” President Milanović said when asked when he would go on an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, explaining: “Mr. Komšić is not a representative of the Croatian people. The Croatian people are a constituent people and (its representatives) must be elected by citizens of Croat ethnicity. It is very simple,” said President Milanović, pointing out that there would be no more concessions: “These are things we must talk about openly.”

Journalists asked President Milanović what political message he is sending to Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “We will not allow things to fall below the standards set out in the Dayton Agreement, just that,” the President replied. “We see that some people are being disciplined for violating Dayton, and then when Croatia or I or the Prime Minister ask that some international documents only mention Dayton, it doesn’t work. Well, that surprises me a little. Dayton is not just an agreement that forced the war to end, to which the Croatian Army greatly contributed by saving Bihać, so that something similar to what happened in Srebrenica would not occur. The Dayton Agreement is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s legal framework. Croatia is one of the three signatories and it is in force, nothing else is in force and nothing else can be agreed and happen without the consent of all three constituent peoples. And it will be included in the future in all documents of international organisations whose member is Croatia. If that isn’t so, there will be no such documents,” President Milanović concluded.

The meeting with the President of the Republic in Vitez was attended by the President of the Federation of BiH Marinko Čavara and representatives of the political, business and cultural milieu of central Bosnia. Apart from the host and Head of the Municipality of Vitez Boris Marjanović, the President of the Vitez Employers’ Association Igor Šakić and numerous businesspeople, the meeting was also attended by Central Bosnia Canton officials: representative of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament Nikola Lovrinović, representative of the House of Peoples of BiH Marina Pendeš and representatives of the House of Representatives of the Federation of BiH Ankica Kolar Jurčević and Matea Cakalin.

Participating in the meeting were delegates of the House of Peoples of the Federation of BiH Ilija Nakić, Zdenka Džambas and Marko Saraf and members of the Parliament of the Central Bosnia Canton Josip Kvasina, Suzana Krišto, Dražen Matišić, Antonija Miličević, Anto Lozančić and Anto Bilić, ministers in the Government of the Central Bosnia Canton Minister of Finance Mirjana Plavčić, Minister of Education, Science, Youth, Culture and Sports Bojan Domić, Minister of the Interior Feliks Vidović and Minister of Health and Social Policy Anto Matić, as well as the heads of the municipalities of the Central Bosnia Canton, Head of the Municipality of Kiseljak Mladen Mišurić Ramljak, Head of the Municipality of Kreševo Renato Pejak, Head of the Municipality of Novi Travnik Stjepan Dujo, Head of the Municipality of Dobretići Ivo Čakarić, Gen. Marijo Bradara and Miroslav Zelić.

Director of the Dr. fra Mato Nikolić Croatian Hospital in Nova Bila Dr. Mladen Čuturić, Director of the Croatian Theatre in Travnik Anto Bilić and Rector of the Seminary and Director of the Petar Barbarić Catholic School Centre in Travnik Željko Marić were the representatives of health, culture and education institutions at the meeting with the President of the Republic.

Alongside President Milanović were Head of the Office of the President Dr. Orsat Miljenić, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Sabolić, Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic Bartol Šimunić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Foreign and European Policy Neven Pelicarić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Defense and National Security Dragan Lozančić, Consul of the Republic of Croatia in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vitez Pero Bilušić and Adviser in the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Mladen Glavina.

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