Where HDZ Rules, Serbs Have No Rights, Dodik Doesn't Mind

The Constitution of HNC, along with three other cantons in the Federation of BiH, does not recognize Serbs as a constituent people, writes the Patria agency.

The Collegium of the HNC Assembly could not agree this time either to include amendments to the HNC Constitution on the agenda of the next Assembly session to make Serbs a constituent people in this canton.

And while HDZ and HNS call for the equality of Croats every day, during that time the Croat Club in HNC denies the constitutionality of an entire people.

In addition to HNC, three other cantons in the Federation of BiH do not recognize the constitutionality of Serbs. These are West Herzegovina Canton (HNK), Posavina Canton, and Canton 10, i.e., cantons where HDZ holds relative or absolute power.

Dragan Čović and HDZ are full of talk about the endangerment of Croats in BiH, while in the areas where they rule, Serbs are denied any rights, which is completely hypocritical.

The Croat Club in HNC justifies this by stating that the opinion of the HNC Government is required to include amendments to the Constitution.

- The excuse for not including the amendments on the agenda is that the Government's opinion needs to be awaited. However, the Government has not sent that opinion – SDP MP in the HNC Assembly Vesna Saradžić told Patria, adding that the Government's opinion is not binding.

SDP BiH MPs had previously called for a public vote in the HNC Assembly to finally see who is for and who is against Serbs becoming a constituent people in this canton, and thus finally unmask themselves.

Croats in Republika Srpska face the same problems that Serbs face in four cantons. None of this prevents Dragan Čović and Milorad Dodik from having unbreakable political relations for years.

The two often meet in various places from Mostar to Banja Luka, discuss many topics, but never get around to the topic of the endangerment of Croats in RS and Serbs in cantons where HDZ rules.

It is clear that Čović and Dodik have a tacit agreement on this issue and have no intention of resolving it as long as the problem does not threaten their rule.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina made a decision on the equality of all peoples 17 years ago, and former High Representative Paddy Ashdown confirmed 15 years ago that the Constitution of FBiH must also apply to cantons, and that all peoples must be equal.

However, these decisions have not been respected to this day.