Čović's 'Three Truths' and One Political Reality: Alliance with Dodik Remains Untouched!

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

HDZ President Dragan Čović addressed journalists ahead of the session of the Croatian National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, commenting on the announcement by the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, Milorad Dodik, that he will not allow the gathering of veterans of the Croatian Defence Council in Derventa.

Čović stated that Croats have the right to mark their events and that such bans do not contribute to stability in the country. I don't know when Čović last visited this area, which at times looks like the war ended yesterday!? Mostly, there are destroyed Croatian houses, and no return. And Dragan Čović himself is largely to blame for this.

Therefore, such a statement comes with a dose of serious political inconsistency. For years, the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina has rarely or almost never publicly opposed the position of Croats in the entity of Republika Srpska, where numerous issues of return, political rights, and commemoration of suffering have remained without a stronger political reaction.

Yes, to put it plainly, Čović has behaved for years the way Milorad Dodik wants – there is no place for anyone other than Serbs in the RS entity. At least not one where you can be a political factor if you are not a Serb.

Čović treats the cantons governed by HDZ in the same way. The civic principle of democracy has long resided there.

Čović's thesis about 'three truths' about wartime events is particularly problematic. Speaking about different views on the past, Čović claims that there are three truths – Bosniak, Serb, and Croatian. However, truth cannot be a matter of ethnic choice or political agreement. Such a formulation actually relativizes established facts and verdicts of international courts.

In this regard, it is not unimportant to recall that both Čović and Dodik reject or dispute the verdicts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. When political leaders deny or relativize judicially established facts, it opens the door precisely for the narrative of 'multiple truths', even though it is an attempt to politically reinterpret history.

Therefore, it is difficult to believe that this issue will seriously shake the political relationship between Čović and Dodik. Their long-standing partnership shows that occasional public differences do not mean an actual political split.

On the contrary, behind such polemics, there is often a common interest, weakening the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and maintaining a political alliance that functions precisely through constant pressure on the state.