Ljubić: Why are you allergic to the third entity?

The discussion in the Croatian Parliament about the possible formation of a third entity in BiH, which was initiated by the opposition there for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has come at a good time. Well, Croatian representatives do not see anything wrong with the fact that an EU member state is discussing the internal organization of another country.

Božo Ljubić (HDZ 1990) told the BiH news agency Patria that this is a completely legitimate issue and that he sees no reason for allergic reactions, especially here in Sarajevo, to this discussion.

- The discussion in the Croatian Parliament is not the official stance of Croatia, but it is a legitimate issue, because not only do Croatia and members of the Croatian Parliament care about the position of Croats outside Croatia's borders, it is also their obligation according to the Constitution. It is also a matter of stability of the neighbors with whom Croatia shares a border of 1,000 kilometers. These protests and attempts to change the structure of BiH outside of institutions cannot leave our neighbors indifferent either – said Ljubić.

He added that politicians in BiH have been dealing with the "Sejdić-Finci" issue for almost five years, which is of almost marginal importance for internal stability and the sustainability of BiH compared to the issue of relations between the three constituent peoples.

- We now have almost 20 years of experience since Dayton, of a Bosnia and Herzegovina that has proven not only to be inefficient, but also dysfunctional and impossible in terms of being a self-sustaining state. I am talking about the post-Dayton structure. The tendencies present here in BiH range from Banja Luka separatism to Sarajevo centralism and internalism, and actually the proposals of the Croats aim to reorganize BiH into a symmetrical Federation in which each of the three constituent peoples will be recognized as truly constituent, which means that Croats should also be a majority in one of the entities – added Ljubić.

The Member of the BiH Parliament explained that this issue is completely legitimate and at this moment it follows the recommendations of the European Parliament, which speak of federalism as a solution for BiH.

- They speak of federalism that treats peoples symmetrically, and I think it is high time that we start dealing with the substantive issues of this country – added Ljubić.