\u201cAfter having sent a letter to NATO members through the Secretary General, he replied today saying we would speak this afternoon so I can describe the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina to him. I can see that international leaders do not know what is going on in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a result of the inactivity of the Croatian diplomacy, or I should say, recent conscious obstruction. The Secretary General doesn\u2019t decide, but this is an issue for NATO\u201d, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 stated today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reminded that the international community\u2019s military presence in BiH is quite complex, since it is formed of EUFOR and NATO, therefore the chain of command is intertwined and not quite clear. \u201cShould the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina undertake in the fall what they announced, i.e. implement some sort of self-governance, it may happen that an anonymous subject orders those forces against Croatian citizens, citizens of BiH of Croatian nationality who are members of a NATO member state, Croatia, and thanks to the laziness, servility and cowardice of the Croatian government has nobody in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are banned from being in BiH. Turks, Hungarians, Austrians may, we may not\u201d, President Milanovi\u0107 warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the President reminded that, according to the Constitution, the coordination and joint conducting of foreign policy between the President of the Republic and the Government \u201csets certain limits which none of us may cross\u201d, yet Plenkovi\u0107 is constantly crossing them\u201d. We cannot agree, we have no joint position because Plenkovi\u0107 is boycotting a session of the National Security Council. This isn\u2019t the only kind of cooperation. We can agree even informally, and stick to it. But he announced \u2013 only officially. Now it\u2019s not even officially, it\u2019s not at all\u201d, President Milanovi\u0107 continued, and explained that he is doing what he can, and what he will do further will depend on developments. \u201cIn any case I will appeal further, I will persist, I won\u2019t give up. It\u2019s a matter of resisting the oppressor\u2019s policy towards BiH Croats\u201d, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Journalists inquired as to the real threat of a conflict breaking out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. \u201cEverything I have been doing in recent months, even longer, is to prevent that scenario. To find a model by peaceful means for the peaceful coexistence of the three constituent peoples in BiH, that no one loses except those who wish to racketeer the BiH Croats. They will lose, Kom\u0161i\u0107 will lose. You asked me about a real threat? As for me, once bitten twice shy. The Croats\u2019 will is unbreakable, whoever leads them. The Croats will proceed with it, then somebody will send a military force against them armed with short and long barrel guns. What will we do then? Croatia is a member of the EU and NATO, yet a third-class member because it is led by third-class people\u201d, the President of the Republic stated. He further warned that whoever starts talking war in BiH \u201ctheir mouth should be taped shut, because that is warmongering\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Milanovi\u0107 pointed out the document recently released by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), and said that the academicians are committed to the struggle for the BiH Croats at any cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI expected them to participate in this discussion, their silence was strange to me. I realize it would mean siding with me in this matter, and that it won\u2019t happen even if it is about a vital Croatian interest. But then I was told that a HAZU document does exist, and that it actually says that the rights of BiH Croats must be assured at any cost. Therefore, at any cost means \u2013 not inquiring about the cost\u201d, President Milanovi\u0107 said, adding that this is evidently the view of Plenkovi\u0107\u2019s closest associates \u201cwhen they think freely, but when they\u2019re submissive they don\u2019t think\u201d, referring to academician \u017deljko Reiner and the Prime Minister\u2019s special adviser academician Zvonko Kusi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Milanovi\u0107 therefore called on HAZU academicians to explain what they meant by assuring the rights of BiH Croats at any cost. \u201cThere is no price that Croatia should pay, writes HAZU, to enable Croats in BiH not to be represented by somebody they didn\u2019t vote for, and not to rob them of the House of Peoples. I ask what the price is, but in this case I see the price is low\u201d, he added, and repeated that he considers his job to \u201cdraw the attention of international factors to this problem, but without success because I am being sabotaged. This is exclusively Plenkovi\u0107\u2019s personal sabotage and private career adventure, I see exactly where this is leading and what he wants\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President also commented on the hooligans\u2019 highway rampage, and police shooting two days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst, stadiums should be a venue for entertainment, enjoyment and peace. This goes by the rules defined by politics. It’s not the police in England that brought order but Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. It\u2019s far too much pressure for the police. When the government reaches that decision, when it will be brave enough, then Torcida, Bad Blue Boys, Armada and other football fans will act differently and with respect. Stadiums and events around them are not a place for orgies, rampages and destruction. Second, the police should have been prepared for this. It\u2019s unbelievable to me that it reached the point of police using firearms. There is a whole serious of riot control measures to suppress such behaviour, and nobody will be killed. To fire a gun at people regardless of how many people were responsible and how guilty they were. Who planned that? That’s unthinkable. Those people could have been killed. This is a problem for the government,” President Milanovi\u0107 said, calling on the government to do its job, because, as he said, \u201cdon\u2019t ask Dinamo and Hajduk to sit down and discuss this because they are associations of citizens. You are the ones who carry out order, enforce the law and you have the support of the citizens\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He once again commented on the government\u2019s conduct in terms of Croatian interests and NATO enlargement plans. \u201cThe NATO Secretary General is Norwegian and that plan is very important to him, to me the Croats in BiH are more important. Turkey is doing its own thing, it\u2019s exaggerating. Our minister is the Turkish Foreign Minister. You\u2019ve seen Plenkovi\u0107 a few weeks ago, before the Turks announced they would block the process, who said that Turkey won\u2019t block Finland and Sweden. And now, they have blocked them. He ran away and forced the owner of a rendering plant to explain to us that Turkey has justified reasons. That\u2019s the Croatian Foreign Minister\u201d, he said alluding to Goran Grli\u0107 Radman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The journalists asked him to comment Serbia\u2019s indictment against the Croatian pilots. “These indictments against the Croatian pilots have occurred despite our years-long attempts to convince them not to play with fire because it will cost them. Leave it alone,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 said among others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cAfter having sent a letter to NATO members through the Secretary General, he replied today saying we would speak this afternoon so I can describe the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina to him. I can see that international leaders do not know what is going on in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a result of the inactivity of the Croatian diplomacy, or I should say, recent conscious obstruction. The Secretary General doesn\u2019t decide, but this is an issue for NATO\u201d, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 stated today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":17388,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-17402","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n