Secretary-General of the Council of Bosniak Intellectuals Emir Zlatar told N1 that the Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic took the side of one political party, not the ethnic Croat people in Bosnia, following her visit to Mostar yesterday, when she stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a “second homeland” for Croats.
“Her visit comes at a time when the general election in Bosnia is about to be held. The parties are taking sides now. She took the side of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH). This will not be good for the Republic of Croatia and the pluralism that has a certain role over there,” Zlatar said. “Her visit and her taking of the side of one political organisation and not the Croat people will be interpreted in different ways.”
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According to Zlatar, the fact that Grabar-Kitarovic did not come to Sarajevo to meet with Bosnia’s Presidency members is regrettable, however, he added, one should remain “cool-headed” towards the entire situation.
“Which rights of Croats are threatened, how many of them live in the northern Bosnia, and how many in the southern Herzegovina region? The demographic issues the Croats are facing are not just related to one people, but to other people as well. The Croat people are leaving the country mostly from the areas ruled by HDZ BiH. The nationalist rhetoric doesn’t lead anywhere and will not bring anything good to the Croat people,” Zlatar stressed.
When it comes to the “Project B” announced earlier this week by the HDZ BiH Leader and the Bosnian Presidency member Dragan Covic talking about the negotiations on amendments to Bosnia’s Election Law, Zlatar assessed that it is just a “political demagoguery.”
“I don’t see how that could be a threat by one Dragan Covic when a Croatian President was unable to do such a thing. I don’t see the point of all that. I guess the goal is some sort of homogenisation to win the votes for HDZ BiH,” Zlatar added.
He does not accept the rigid division of Bosnian institutions.
“HDZ BiH’s problem is that their politics is taking the form of chauvinism. They have entered the form of nationalism which leads to self-destruction of one’s own political position in Bosnia,” Zlatar concluded. “Whoever understands Bosnian politics and society processes, the HDZ BiH and the Croat People’s Assembly (HNS – a coalition of Croat parties in Bosnia), knows that their only demand is that the Bosnian Presidency member from the Croat people must come only from HDZ BiH.”
