Croatia tried to destroy BiH institutions through agents who are now fleeing BiH to Croatia

This is an attempt to destabilize BiH because when you destroy the institutions of a state, you have destroyed that state. Our public was confused by the events surrounding Josip Šimić, who was delivering information to the prosecution about the wiretapping of the chief prosecutor and then the deputy of the HJPC, and it was said that this was allegedly done by the Ministry of Security - when it turned out that these were forged documents, the people who gave him those documents fled precisely to Croatia, said Goran Kovačević, assistant professor at the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies in Sarajevo, for TV1.

TV1: Mr. Kovačević, is the affair concerning the entry of Russians into Bosnia and Herzegovina being covered up by the affair of alleged illegal wiretapping of Croatian officials by OSA?

KOVAČEVIĆ: The answer to that question is very simple. The official policy of Croatia, led by President Grabar-Kitarović, acted offensively and very aggressively towards BiH until the article in Foreign Affairs was published, which explicitly stated that HDZ cadres represent the interests of Russians in BiH in a way that would prevent BiH's entry into NATO and later into the EU. Now we have a moment where Croatia is transforming from an aggressor into a victim, and where we in BiH are appearing as some criminals and terrorists, and in this case, we are providing intelligence coverage for Croatia.

TV1: Do Brussels and Washington understand this game?

KOVAČEVIĆ: Of course they understand, because more and more negative statements are coming out about the behavior of certain officials from Croatia, Europe, and Brussels, and even a Swiss newspaper wrote about the negative behavior of Croatia and its president, then you have stances from Germany where it is felt that something is not right in the behavior of BiH's immediate neighbor.

TV1: The whole story was initiated by the Croatian newspaper Nacional, where did they get this data from, is it possible that it is real or fabricated, and why would Prime Minister Plenković be targeted?

KOVAČEVIĆ: Everyone claims that Nacional is some kind of opposition newspaper, however, we must not forget that their founder, Mr. Pukanić, was murdered. Croatia should investigate who killed him, but it is important to ask where the Nacional journalist got a secret document from the BiH intelligence service, whether they got it because Croatian agents were working illegally and secretly in BiH and obtained such a document, or if someone from BiH who is employed in BiH's security services and has access to such reports provided such data.

TV1: Why would Plenković be targeted?

KOVAČEVIĆ: It seems to me that Plenković is the only person in Croatian politics with common sense, and that he wants to resolve problems with neighbors peacefully and diplomatically, which does not suit the Croatian president at all, who represents a very radical and rigid policy and is surrounded by a generals' and criminal lobby, so if you can't get his attention with words, then at least show him that someone is wiretapping him.

TV1: How do you comment on the fact that Bakir Izetbegović and the head of OSA are also targets of reports and accusations from Croatia?

KOVAČEVIĆ: Generally, this story continues the Croatian president's speeches about terrorism and radicalism, and under terrorism and radicalism, a group of Bosniaks in BiH is targeted because there is no other terrorism except Islamic terrorism, and if you look at the fact that Bosniaks are Muslims, and when you have the head of Bosniak politics who has the director of the intelligence service under his command, then he is allegedly working against Croatia, and tomorrow he might be working against another country, and in the end, you have a very bad image of BiH. You neutralize Bosniaks as a political factor, and then you can do whatever you want.

TV1: Is there a parallel system in OSA that works for Croatia, you claim that a large number of people were installed in the service by HDZ?

KOVAČEVIĆ: Primarily, OSA was not a problem when the former director, who was in daily contact with Tomislav Karamarko, who was the informal head of our intelligence service, was in charge. But when a man who is not on that wavelength came to head the service, BiH became problematic, and the intelligence service is allegedly something that is used for the purpose of one political party, in this case SDA. This is an attempt to destabilize BiH because when you destroy the institutions of a state, you have destroyed that state. This is a classic attack on the BiH intelligence service. We recently had an attack on our prosecution. Our services should take care of this and send a questionnaire to Croatia, even to the president - our public was confused by the events surrounding Josip Šimić, who was delivering information to the prosecution about the wiretapping of the chief prosecutor and then the deputy of the HJPC, and it was said that this was allegedly done by the Ministry of Security - when it turned out that these were forged documents, the people who gave him those documents fled precisely to Croatia. Such a level of professional deception and falsification cannot be done by individuals who do not have specific training in intelligence work. Therefore, it is about agents, whether from Croatia or some other country, but given that they fled to Croatia, one could conclude anything.

TV1: Can there be consequences for BiH?

KOVAČEVIĆ: For BiH, it is very difficult if there are pro-Bosnian forces, but there are a number of political steps that are wrong. We had the statement of the presiding member Čović before the UN, who said that BiH must take a stance on radicalism, and the way he explained it is the way the Croatian president explains it. He spoke about problems with the election law. BiH is a member of the UN, not HDZ, and he spoke about the problems that HDZ has in BiH, not about the problems of BiH, he did not speak about those matters.

TV1: How do you view the statements of Minister Mektić on this issue and the state's stance on what is continuously coming from Croatia?

KOVAČEVIĆ: I am glad that such a person exists and the steps he is taking are steps for all peoples in BiH. Yesterday, there was his statement which the media from RS twisted, and they stated things he did not say, so he had to deny it, and in the end, when everything is listened to, it is clear that what was reported in those media was not true. Mektić said that BiH and its agencies have the legal right to wiretap anyone suspected of engaging in activities harmful to BiH. Whether it is an official of some country or not, it is irrelevant if they have bad intentions towards BiH, but he never said that this was done to officials from Croatia. I think that your interlocutor today, Korajlić, explained how someone can come to be wiretapped, but again the question arises as to how that information reaches the media, especially in Croatia, so who is providing that information.

TV1: Do Croatia and Serbia respect the Dayton Agreement and how much do they destabilize BiH?

KOVAČEVIĆ: The Dayton Agreement is narrowly viewed as an agreement that only established peace in BiH, however, it is a regional agreement in its essence because you have BiH, Serbia, and Croatia that signed this agreement, and Croatia and Serbia undertook not to take any action that could destabilize BiH, and these countries have not respected this agreement for 20 years. The authorities of BiH can file a lawsuit for non-compliance with international agreements by Croatia and Serbia, and Croatia proves this continuity of non-compliance in the case of the Pelješac Bridge as well. It is misunderstood that we in BiH are frustrated, so we don't allow the bridge to be built, and that is not true because Croatia is violating international provisions established so that someone does not use force against another.