The President of the Republic of Croatia is a frequent guest in our country but in the territory of Herzegovina. This holder of power in Croatia introduced the political custom as Prime Minister to bypass the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). High-ranking officials, primarily the presidents of neighboring countries, are increasingly visiting BiH, but bypassing its official institutions and colleagues from the Presidency of BiH. In most cases, they do so because of their private interests. Protocol visits are absent, so for years, we have witnessed attempts to deny the institutions of BiH, its sovereignty, and its integrity.
As the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic did not pay an official visit to the BiH Presidency, but he did visit Siroki Brijeg. True, partly due to the fact that Zeljko Komsic is a member of the Presidency. He is no stranger to handing out various awards, such as the most recent awarding of the members of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO). Those familiar with Milanovic’s politics say that he is just heating up and that his visits will be more and more frequent, of course again in Herzegovina.
“What Milanovic did yesterday in Siroki Brijeg is part of his preparation for the presidential elections next year. It is known that Croats in BiH who are Croatian citizens have the right to vote. In the coming period, his goal is to come as often as possible to the areas of BiH populated mostly by Croats in order to secure as many votes as possible for the next elections,” said a political scientist from Zagreb, Davor Gjenero.
Even though interest prevails, it is unacceptable that officials from neighboring countries avoid meetings with the real holders of sovereignty in this country. Therefore, BiH, as a country, should not suffer such incursions into its territory. An example of this is the recent arrival of the President of Serbia in Prijedor. This is nothing new because this has been happening for thirty years.
“They are trying to deny the institutions of BiH and BiH itself, it is not a coincidence, we have had aggression from neighboring countries on one side and on the other, and today there is an attempt to question our sovereignty and integrity, and we also have international factors that support this,” professor of international relations Zlatko Hadzidedic stated.
There are no specific reactions of BiH officials to such visits. Some believe that this is because Milanovic largely leads a policy of conflict and they do not want to blame him for anything, and the president of Serbia behaves similarly.
“That tells you enough how strong and powerful the state of BiH is, much more serious things go unsanctioned when it comes to, say, some court proceedings and the dismantling of the state, secessionist efforts of certain political leaders, let alone some visits by foreign officials,” says political analyst Mladen Bubonjic.
It is not unknown that BiH leaders maintain friendly political ties. Thus, Milorad Dodik has a habit of meeting casually with Milanovic or Vucic on their territories. Analysts will say: they are bound by the politics of denying BiH or perhaps by being subject to Russian influence and their own interests.
