The President of the Homeland Movement, Ivan Penava, said that his party is not advocating the establishment or return of ‘Herzeg-Bosnia’, but amendments that he claims would prevent the outvoting of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Speaking about the position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Penava said the goal of the resolution presented by the Homeland Movement is to ensure that Croats can choose their own political representatives without bringing into question the continued existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the coexistence of constituent peoples.
This differs from what Penava said a few weeks ago, when he announced support for the establishment of ‘Herzeg-Bosnia. His announcement sparked harsh criticism of many politicians in Croatia, including the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. With this press conference, Penava tried to distance himself from the previous statements.
“What I want to emphasize, which is the sole purpose of the Homeland Movement’s reaction, of our public statements, and ultimately, the creation of the declaration and the resolution, is the fact that in neighboring BiH—which is, by all its foundational documents and its history, based on the equality and equal status of the three constituent peoples, namely Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs—this equality and equal status has been grossly violated continuously for several decades, and there is silence surrounding it, as it is not being communicated clearly and loudly enough,” Penava said.
“A Single Constituency Dedicated to Croats”
Penava stated that the Homeland Movement initiative aims at preventing the outvoting of Croats.
“The theme of our initiative is just one thing—very clear, pure, just, logical, and well-intended towards BiH first of all, and of course towards the Croat people in BiH—and that is stopping the outvoting Croats through a single constituency dedicated to Croats, in which no one will be able to outvote them anymore. This is the essence of the resolution; this is what the Homeland Movement insists on. This is what we have, in one way or another, stated to be the minimum that must be respected, and below which the Homeland Movement as a party neither can nor will go,” he said.
He added that this is the “red line” of the Homeland Movement when it comes to the position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Since 2006, Croats Have Been Outvoted Four Times”
Penava said that everything he says and does is “in line with preserving the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” and good relations amongst peoples.
“The factual situation is that since 2006, the Croat people were outvoted four times in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or rather, another representative was imposed on them, one who was not of their choosing. This is the red line,” he said.
He emphasized that the Homeland Movement opposes such practices and rejected claims that the initiative has hidden motives.
“We raise our voice against it; we fight against it, not because, as some are trying to portray the Homeland Movement, we have bad intentions towards anyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not because we would want to score political points on this topic. Not because, as someone would want to portray, we are dreaming about the establishment and return of Herzeg-Bosnia,” Penava said.
He also addressed the positions of political factions in Croatia that believe matters in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be resolved through internal agreement.
“The agreement was signed. The agreement was reached during the war. The Agreement defined the equal status of all three constituent peoples, and based on that, no one has the right to outvote Croats,” he said.
“We Aren’t Bringing into Question the Continued Existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina”
Penava said that the Homeland Movement is not bringing into question the continued existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“There was not a single moment within the Homeland Movement when the continued existence of the Federation, or Bosnia and Herzegovina, was brought into question, nor the good cooperation or coexistence of all three constituent peoples and all remaining citizens,” he said.
He emphasized that he would not accept staying silent regarding the position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“But for you to reproach us and claim we should remain silent and look the other way when Croats are outvoted, when there is a practical attempt to reduce Croats to a minority status and root them out of Bosnia and Herzegovina; to hold it against us after all the historical circumstances—when that Bosnia and Herzegovina, those Bosniaks, were armed via Croatia, when their families were provided shelter on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, when we had bad episodes of mutual conflicts, which is to the shame of both sides, and when the Croatian Army, at the invitation of Alija Izetbegović, went to Bosnia and Herzegovina to fight and achieved victories that led to peace and ultimately to Dayton—for someone to try and hold it against us that we are poking our noses into Bosnia and Herzegovina, well, you simply have no right to do that,” he said.
“We Don’t Want Herzeg-Bosnia, but Respect for Constituent Status”
Speaking about the so-called Herzeg-Bosnia, Penava said that the Homeland Movement supports a unified Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He recalled the statement of the former member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haris Silajdžić, calling it the trigger for his party’s earlier statements.
He added that the Homeland Movement wants a ‘unified Bosnia and Herzegovina’ and quality cooperation with Bosniaks and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it won’t accept the denial of the constituent status of Croats.
“He himself says he believes it is only just that, since Bosnia and Herzegovina in its very concept is not designed as a civic state, but as a state of three constituent peoples, he doesn’t consider it just that Serbs elect Serbs, Bosniaks elect Bosniaks, while Croats cannot elect Croats,” Penava said, recounting Silajdžić’s stance.
“We want them to feel good, but don’t take away our fundamental right, which led to peace, do not deny the constituent status of the Croats,” Penava said.
