“We have our own country, but we must ask ourselves how Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), whose rights are trampled, live,” President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanovic said on Saturday, who, on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the founding of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), decorated its members with the Order of Nikola Subic Zrinski in Knin.
“I decorate you gentlemen from the HVO brigades, and it is my exceptional honor to present this decoration to the small number of people you represent. A small number of people who defended Croatia and made it possible for things to turn in our favor,” said the President of the Republic of Croatia and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic. On the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the founding of the HVO in Knin, he decorated the 102nd HVO Odzak Brigade, the 108th HVO Ravne Brcko Brigade, the 111th HVO Zepce XP Brigade, and the 115th Zrinski HVO Brigade, as announced by the Office of the President.
“Many of you have been suspected of various offenses by the second and third parties. 30 years have passed, and no one has been accused or imprisoned. I think it’s time to stop with this reproach and provocation. The war is over, these people have spent their wartime honorably, and now, 30 years after the war, not only is there no reason to be ashamed of them, but we must be proud of them,” Milanovic emphasized.
He emphasized that today, although the citizens of Croatia live in Croatia, which is a member of the European Union (EU), they must look around and ask themselves how Croats in BiH are living.
“Croats who have remained to live in BiH have their rights as a constituent people, and those rights have been systematically neglected and trampled upon in recent years. That is why as Croats we must be more united, more determined, and if you will, bolder, and demand our rights. Even if it is something symbolic, such as the election of a member of the BiH Presidency. It is symbolic, but it is also a question of honor and pride, a question of integrity and the right to be respected regardless of the lack of real power and authority there,” President Milanovic said.
He stated that these are principles and that Bosniaks cannot choose a Croatian member of the Presidency. In BiH, there are Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks who must understand that, although they are the mathematical majority, this does not give them greater rights. “The Croatian state must fight for that. It must fight for the honor of its people,” he concluded.
E.Dz.
