Croatia as an aggressor cannot be a guarantor of Dayton: A signatory with the burden of UZP has no right to decide on Bosnia and Herzegovina!

Written by: Delvin Kovač

The Republic of Croatia, 32 years after declaring its independence and leaving Yugoslavia, has not stopped playing the role of the older Euro-Yugoslav sister of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Our neighbors try to justify this by the large number of Croats living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, so on a daily basis they meddle where they do not belong, trying to impose their views on us as the only relevant ones. According to the verdict of the Hague Tribunal, Croatia is an aggressor against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the executors of its hegemonic plans, both political and military, have been convicted for a joint criminal enterprise (JCE), a burden that Croatia cannot shake off.

In various ways, President Zoran Milanović, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman, as well as numerous other public figures, explain to us how to live, because it seems that without them we would not even know how. And by Plenković's will, the prefect of Osijek-Baranja County, Ivan Anušić, who was recently installed as Minister of Defense, has entered Croatian politics at the highest level. He took over that function from Mario Banožić, who, due to his recklessness and carelessness, caused a traffic accident in which one person lost his life.

That he is a solid addition to the government of Andrej Plenković, Anušić showed yesterday during a meeting with the Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez. And on neutral ground - in Prague, at a meeting of defense ministers of the member states of the Central European Defense Cooperation.

In a conversation with the BiH minister, whose dismissal will be discussed at the session of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH on December 21, Anušić stated that Croatia will continue to help Bosnia and Herzegovina in the area of defense and security, and especially regarding accession to Euro-Atlantic integrations, adding that "as a guarantor of the Dayton Agreement, Croatia strongly supports the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina."

We all know well how temperamental Helez is, that he is a man who speaks his mind. We will remember those (verbal) confrontations of his in cafes with red and white tablecloths. And we will also remember that he was the only one who snapped back, even being ready for a physical confrontation with secessionist Milorad Dodik when he cursed the Srebrenica genocide. However, in the capital of the Czech Republic, Helez was, to say the least, disappointing. Either out of ignorance or... Who knows.

It is unclear for what reason he kept silent to his Croatian colleague about the spoken lie, because Croatia is not a guarantor of the Dayton Agreement, but only its signatory - because, as I wrote in the introduction - the participants in the conflict/aggression are signatories to the peace, not guarantors. Helez could have, and still has the opportunity - to publicly and institutionally respond to his Croatian colleague, but for now, the newly appointed minister from Croatia wins.

Such rhetoric by Anušić can and must pass with those in Croatia who consider people from Bosnia and Herzegovina as their own, like Borjana Krišto, Dragan Čović, Božo Ljubić..., but it should not and must not pass with the B (Bosniak) and pro-B (pro-Bosnian) political component, which should always react sharply when faced with the neighborly belittling of everything that has a B and H prefix. Not to mention the need for pre-designed and planned actions to defend against political aggression.

The President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, recently said that without Croatia's will, there is no change to Dayton, and that this would be a cause for war. Are the highest officials of Croatia trying to tell us with such messages that peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina depend precisely on them? Does this also mean that Dayton will last only until the moment when official Zagreb decides otherwise? And at the same time, we are sure, in Croatia they are well aware that - without Dayton, there are no entities, no cantons - not even those five (HNK, ZHK, SBK, Posavski, Canton 10) through which Dragan Čović managed to cement himself as an indispensable partner in coalitions at the federal and state levels.

Croatia, as a signatory to the Dayton Peace Agreement, did not receive any special rights over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The only thing it did receive were obligations - respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As well as non-interference in its internal affairs. However, Croatia is clearly violating all its obligations.

But, it is obvious that our neighbors clearly see that softies sit in the leading positions of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they skillfully use this at every opportunity. Let us recall that neither Helez's colleague from the Troika, otherwise the leader of the People and Justice party and head of BiH diplomacy, Elmedin Konaković, distinguished himself in mid-March this year in a duel with Croatian journalist Aleksandar Stanković in the show "Nedjeljom u 2" on HRT. Then Konaković, in the middle of Zagreb, when asked whether Croatia committed aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, did not dare to answer in accordance with the verdicts of the International Court.

Both Konaković and Helez should know that the state is defended not only on its territory, but on every occasion, both "on visits" and "on neutral ground." However, in the two mentioned instances, the BiH ministers failed to do so.

Unlike Ivan Anušić, the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, went a step further, and yesterday also stated that decisions concerning Croatia should by no means be allowed to be made in Bosnia and Herzegovina "as is legally prescribed through the Dayton Agreement." Of course, Milanović's mantras and twisting of facts cannot deceive those well-versed in what that agreement says, and it definitely does not state anywhere that Croatia has the right to interfere in the internal affairs and decision-making in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I have already written that Konaković and Helez in Zagreb and Prague scored own goals not only for themselves, but also for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, it is particularly worrying that no BiH politician has yet reacted to the statements of Anušić and Milanović. And we can certainly be proud as a country with the largest number of politicians per capita in the entire world! And all this shows that pro-B politics cares only about personal and party interests, while the survival of the state depends solely on the strength of its enemies. Because, ultimately, the public has been asking for years for a plan and action for the final liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but in vain.