Who is truly threatening the stability of BiH: Anušić's statement in service of concealing territorial aspirations

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

Minister of Defense of Croatia Ivan Anušić stated at the conference "Security in BiH – Foundation of Peace and Stability", held in Zagreb, that there would have already been an escalation of conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina if it were not for the influence of the international community:

"It is clear that without the involvement of European and world politics, certain escalations of conflict would have already occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

However, if Anušić had followed historical facts and current political trends, a more accurate statement would have been:

"If it weren't for the international community, Serbia and Croatia would again try to realize their territorial aspirations towards BiH, threatening its sovereignty and peace."

During the nineties, international verdicts and historical evidence clearly show that Serbia and Croatia committed aggression against BiH. First directly, and later through support to their political outposts in Republika Srpska and in territories where HDZ BiH reigns sovereignly.

If there is a danger of escalation today, it is logical to ask whether these same forces still have aspirations towards BiH. In other words, the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina would be carried out expressively.

This formulation of Anušić's statement incorrectly points to the main destabilizing factors. It is as if he is shifting responsibility onto the citizens of BiH themselves and placing the wrong focus.

Because when it is claimed that it "would escalate", and it is not specified who the initiator of the escalation would be, it leaves room for interpretation that the citizens of BiH themselves would cause the conflicts, not foreign powers or domestic political actors who destabilize them.
This narrative, coming from Croatia, is not new and is continuously used to conceal Zagreb's real political goals towards BiH.

Instead of focusing on the respect for BiH's sovereignty and territorial integrity by neighboring countries, such statements emphasize BiH's dependence on the international community. This further undermines BiH's sovereignty and creates a perception that it is incapable of maintaining stability independently without external intervention.

This story is not only superficial but also harmful to long-term relations in the region, as it does not recognize the real causes of instability and does not call to account those who are most responsible for destabilizing BiH.

And that instability also lies in the fact that war crime suspects in BiH, sought by Bosnia and Herzegovina, were present at this gathering, but Croatia does not extradite them because they are its citizens. Or they simply still think, let's keep them with us – just in case!