Kovačević: Croatian leadership has not accepted The Hague's ruling in the 'Prlić and others' case for a decade

(Patria) - Slaven Kovačević, an appellant before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in the case of 'Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina', spoke about the developments related to the rendering of the verdict in his case.

The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić, also spoke about this verdict at the United Nations General Assembly, citing the verdict as proof of the embargo on democracy currently imposed on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"It is true that this case was also mentioned in New York after the speech by the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić. He did not name any country or individuals in his speech. I am very pleased that the relevant parties recognized themselves. The statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, Gordan Grlić Radman, is absolutely untrue. What is truly damaging relations between the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is that the leadership of the Republic of Croatia, for a decade now, refuses to accept the verdict of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague in the 'Prlić and others' case. That verdict established the existence of a joint criminal enterprise in which the then political and military leadership of Croatia, plus domestic actors, participated. The verdict states that it aimed to establish mono-ethnic parts of BiH territory through ethnic cleansing, which would be under the de facto control of Zagreb through sister military and political elements, and that in the event of the disintegration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, these parts would be annexed to neighboring Croatia along the 1939 Banovina line. That is what The Hague established," Kovačević reminds.

He emphasizes that if official Zagreb wants to improve relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, not between ethnic communities, because they have plenty of work to do there between Croats and Hungarians, between Croats and Italians, Croats and Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, then they should start from that zero point.

"When they accept that, then we can discuss all other elements, with the understanding that it implies no interference in the internal affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Kovačević said on the show Istraga sedmice.