Croatian National Council in Sarajevo organized a conference whose topic was re-opening of the story about the federalization of BiH. Although HDZ BiH talks only about the restructuring of BiH and the establishment of new units within the FBiH for now, the former mayor of Sarajevo Ivo Komsic noted that, if it comes to that, it is necessary to follow the original idea of federalization of entire BiH and not just one part of it.
Komsic stated that the idea of the Croatian National Council was presented on the 6th of February 1994 and that its goal was to stop negotiations on the division of BiH in Geneva and to stop the war. After the US administration accepted the proposal, Washington agreement was reached, and as Komsic said, it stated that federalization is designed for the entire BiH, not just one part of it.
“It was the idea of rearrangement of BiH, not division. Unfortunately, the Dayton Peace Agreement was going in a different direction and instead of completing the federalization, negotiations took place in the direction of entity structures. HDZ BiH is returning to the idea of federalization, but they were against it, they attacked us and declared as their enemies. It is good that the topic is re-opened, but we need to see what it is all about. Are they returning to Geneva negotiation in regard to the division of state with the union of three republics and the creation of a third entity or it is about the federalization of entire BiH. If they are advocating for the union of three republics that means that all the Croats that are living in central Bosnia, Posavina, and Krajina would stay outside of Herceg-Bosna,” said Komsic.
President of the Croatian Cultural Society “Napredak” in Sarajevo Franjo Topic, noted that it is moral and politically correct to take care of all people and that, if the organization of BiH should be changed, these changes must refer to the entire country. However, the problem is, according to him, in the fact that political parties look at people in every part of BiH through the number of votes they can win in a particular area.
“All the power is in the south of BiH, and that is not fair. We cannot be silent when we see injustice. Croats are not equal within their own ranks,” stated Topic.
The story of federalization was especially current in the context of the resolution of the European Parliament when Croatian representatives emphasized federalization in the final text of the resolution of the EU Parliament.
(Source: A. Z./Klix.ba)
