Zdenko Lučić, the candidate of five Croat-oriented parties for the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, responded to Dragan Čović, President of HDZ BiH, after Čović publicly accused him of smuggling, war profiteering, and criminal activity, and linked him to the former Yugoslav counterintelligence structure.
Lučić responded by publishing a facsimile of the official minutes from a session of the Business Council of the Aerospace Industry “SOKO” d.d. Mostar, held on October 8, 1991, during the breakup of Yugoslavia and the beginning of the JNA’s aggression against Croatia.
In the caption of the document posted on Facebook, he wrote: “Both have fallen. The Yugoslav Dragan Čović will fall too.”
The document refers to the formation of the “Staff of Direct Management,” a crisis body intended to take direct control over production processes in the Mostar military industry due to the “complex security, political, and economic situation in the country.”
In the minutes, Dragan Čović is listed among those present, at that time as the “Director of the Production Sector,” confirming that during this period he held one of the leading positions in the military company “SOKO.”
His name also appears among the members of the newly formed crisis staff. In the document, under serial number four, it states: “Čović Dragan – Production of Elements,” thereby assigning him responsibility for managing element production within the company’s crisis leadership.
The document was signed by the chief of staff to the company president, Duško Dragović, while the session was presided over by the then President of “SOKO” VI d.d., Novica Đurica.
By publishing the minutes, Lučić responded to serious accusations made earlier today by Dragan Čović, following the commemoration of the Day of HVIDRA in Mostar. The HDZ BiH President called Lučić a “smuggler, opportunist, war profiteer, and criminal,” stating that “war crime never expires.”
Čović also stated he would not allow, as he put it, “former UDBA, KOS, and AID agents to speculate around this area again,” claiming that certain circles “on orders from Sarajevo” are trying to act politically against HDZ BiH.
Over the past few weeks, Lučić has openly criticized the President of HDZ BiH, accusing him of privatizing the party and exploiting the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina for personal gain. In public appearances, he has questioned Čović’s national identity, claiming that he “became a Croat” only after a certain number of Croatian passports went missing from the Consulate of the Republic of Croatia.
Lučić called on Čović to publicly present his certificate of citizenship of the Republic of Croatia and explain when and from whom he received it, stating that this would refute his claims, Klix.ba writes.
