Kosor: How can the protector of Croat rights be a person because of whom they are not returning to RS?

(Patria) - Jadranka Kosor, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, commenting on Milorad Dodik's visit to Zagreb, said that he should not be the sole interlocutor for either Zoran Milanović, President of Croatia, or Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of that country, as such visits do not resolve anything. She stated that Croatia, as an EU member, has committed to respecting the rule of law and international judgments, which Dodik has denied in the past.

"People, politicians who do not respect the decisions of international courts - and this applies to Dodik, are not the first with whom Croatian representatives have had to talk. Dodik was invited as a member of the Presidency. In that case, something unusual was done. The interlocutor of the President of the Republic of Croatia was the three members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The interlocutor of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia is the Council of Ministers and the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers. This was the case in the past," said Kosor.

She emphasized on Dan uživo that she expected Zoran Milanović to go to Sarajevo, and that Dodik's participation in that regard would not have been questioned.

"Like this - that visit opened a series of questions. Dodik's policy, which he clearly explained the day before, his undisguised tendencies to merge Republika Srpska with Serbia and so on. This is something that is unacceptable for an EU member state, as Croatia is, from the perspective of the EU's foundation, which is the rule of law," said Kosor.

The rule of law is also manifested in respecting the institutions of one's own and other countries, she added.

Kosor also added that she does not understand what specifically Milanović and Plenković can resolve with Dodik, and asked what problem has been solved?

"Perhaps the public should have been prepared, the visit announced, explained in advance to the Croatian public, the wider public, Brussels, and stated what is good about it," she stated, adding that there is no intention in sight to invite the entire BiH Presidency to Croatia.

Milanović mentioned the arrival of Bakir Izetbegović, leader of the SDA, but not Komšić.

"Some people do not understand what is going on. Presidents of states talk individually with party leaders. In my opinion, this cannot lead to a solution to the problems. The position of Croats in BiH is mentioned with difficulty," she added.

"I cannot imagine that the protector of Croat rights can be a person because of whom many Croats have not returned to RS. I mean Dodik. The equal rights of Croats in BiH cannot be represented by a person who has decorated a person convicted of war crimes, who shelled a Croatian city. I think Croatia must adhere to the declaration of the Croatian Parliament, the declaration on assistance to Croats in BiH, which precisely sends a message about their protection based on European values," stated Kosor.

She emphasized that all open issues should be resolved institutionally.

Dodik stated in Zagreb that the problems of Croats in RS have been resolved, and that he had a 'comfortable' conversation with Milanović on that topic. In response, Kosor said that Bishop Komarica, who was the guardian of Croatian hearths in RS, had been insulted several times by Milorad Dodik, and that she did not see how the problems of Croats in that BiH entity were resolved.

"I had to fight hard battles for Croatia to cooperate with the International Court of Justice; respecting court decisions is the starting point. When Dodik, like Vučić, continuously claims that Operation Storm was ethnic cleansing, and The Hague said it was not, when you refuse to admit that genocide occurred in Srebrenica, then it is a big problem at the beginning of any dialogue," said Kosor.

Politicians of the 21st century must learn to respect court judgments, she emphasized, as well as the rule of law, the state, and institutions.

Kosor also spoke about the Election Law, stating that no one from Croatia can resolve it, but it is exclusively resolved in BiH.

"The conversation between Dodik and the President and Prime Minister of Croatia cannot resolve this; it must be resolved by the institutions of BiH. What was resolved by Dodik's conversation?" Kosor asked again on N1.