Croatian media buzzing: Zagreb again worsens relations with Sarajevo

(Patria) - No political visit to Zagreb has caused such a stir, excitement, diametrically opposed comments and controversy in a long time as the recent arrival of the Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik, but in the capacity of the “leader of the Serbs”, writes Jutarnji list.

Sociologist Ivan Markešić is direct and according to him, Milanović's invitation to Dodik is “an insolence not seen in a long time”. Professor Markešić warns that Dodik accuses today's Croatia of the Ustasha crime in Jasenovac, does everything to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina and to annex Republika Srpska to Serbia.

“On the other hand, Plenković's rambling about preserving a few Croatian houses on the route of the future highway through RS is an expression of shameless human hypocrisy towards Bosnian Croats. Moreover, both Milanović and Plenković forget that the Croats still remaining in Bosnia and Herzegovina live mixed with Bosniaks. With such a policy of theirs, they will soon ‘humanely’ relocate them to the eastern Herzegovina gorges or somewhere in the backwaters of Croatian regions under special state care in order to populate the places from which Croatian Serbs left - willingly or by force (it doesn't matter). Also, in relocating Bosnian Croats from areas predominantly inhabited by Bosniaks, both Milanović and Plenković will find interlocutors among Bosniak politicians”, Markešić told Jutarnji.

Jutarnji states that for a full 15 years, while the presidents were Stipe Mesić and then Ivo Josipović, Croatia maintained a distance towards Dodik and tried to maintain good relations with pro-Bosnian politicians.

"And then came Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. In the summer of 2016, a new political platform towards Bosnia and Herzegovina was being prepared at Pantovčak. Basically, the initiative launched by the then president contained two aspects: strengthening the position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in return, Croatia was supposed to help the neighboring country emerge from international isolation and accelerate its path towards the EU. However, everything stalled due to the fall of the Tihomir Orešković government and the pre-election campaign. Even earlier, Grabar-Kitarović, immediately after taking office, caused fierce protests when she announced for Bosnia and Herzegovina that she would seek an upgrade of the Dayton Peace Agreement, as well as demanding equality for the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because it is threatened", write authors Robert Bajruši and Vlado Vurušić.