VISITING TOMISLAVGRAD Milanović denies Hague Tribunal verdicts

(Patria) - Croatian President Zoran Milanović said today in Tomislavgrad that Croatia does not "babble about the Croatian world" or the partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and announced that Zagreb will continue to advocate for the equality of compatriots and an end to their being outvoted.

"We are not babbling about any Croatian world that someone should fear. We are not babbling about the Russian or Serbian world, we are not staking claims, we are not setting boundaries or borders," said Milanović. He participated in the 32nd anniversary of the founding of the King Tomislav Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council.

"Without the Croatian Army and the Croatian Defence Council, there would be no free Bosnia and Herzegovina today, which we respect, which we do not covet, but in which we seek equal rights for Croats as prescribed by the Dayton Agreement, which is not being respected. Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve to have their rights respected," he emphasized.

He assessed as harmful the fact that in the Bosniak public in that country, Croatia is called an aggressor, and said that the Croatian Army and the Croatian Defence Council are most responsible for Bosnia and Herzegovina being a state within its current borders(!?).

"It is not pleasant to hear every other day about some joint criminal enterprise or that the Croatian army was an occupying force," said President Milanović. He expressed the expectation that the outvoting of Croats by the more numerous Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina will cease, as is the case with the imposition of Željko Komšić as the Croatian member of the country's state leadership.

"I believe that very soon Croatia will be able to help Croats gain their rights through amendments to the Election Law. This is a symbolic matter and it is important. Now is the time to say this without fear," he added.

He announced that he will advocate for members of the Croatian Defence Council in the Republic of Croatia to achieve equal rights as members of the Croatian Army, noting that fellow fighters from Bosnia and Herzegovina are not satisfied with their status.

"This is something that the Croatian state will have to take upon itself," said Milanović.

Before his address at the central town square, the Croatian President, along with a delegation, laid a wreath and lit candles for fallen Croatian defenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Last year, the Croatian President awarded the King Tomislav Brigade the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski, Hina reports.