The most important events from the short history of Herceg-Bosna

A ceremonial academy was held in Mostar on Monday to mark the 24th anniversary of the founding of the so-called Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna.

The academy at the Croatian Home of Duke Stjepan Kosača was attended by the political leadership of the Croatian National Assembly (HNS) and HDZ BiH, led by a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who stated that he was "proud that such anniversaries can be celebrated".

- It seems to me that the time has truly come for us to celebrate these anniversaries, dedicating them to the people who gave their lives so that we could live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a way that we can proudly say that we have truly arranged Bosnia and Herzegovina to suit the human being and all three constituent peoples, and that we can live better here. I am happy to contribute to stability in BiH – Čović said from Mostar.

The book by Jadranko Prlić, "Contributions to the History of the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna," was also presented at the ceremonial academy, but the author of the book could not attend due to obligations at the Hague Tribunal, where he is awaiting a final verdict for a joint criminal enterprise.

All attendees at the academy emphasized their pride on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the para-state Herceg-Bosna, even though it has long since ceased to exist, at least formally. None of them have the courage to publicly state what the custodians of the para-state's tradition are proud of.

The so-called Herceg-Bosna existed for about three years, and in that short time, it did not have time to produce a Nobel laureate in physics, mathematics, or literature, nor did it create any athlete who achieved a result worth mentioning. Companies in that para-state were not involved in the production of quality chocolates, the construction of roads, or railways...

However, in a very short period, so many significant events occurred in the area controlled by the authorities of the so-called Herceg-Bosna that historians will have material to deal with them for the next few centuries. To list them all would require thousands of pages, but I will mention only a few.

The massacre in Ahmići was carried out on April 16, 1993, in which members of the Jokeri unit killed 116 Bosniak civilians, a large number of women and children, including a three-month-old baby. Dario Kordić, the mastermind of the operation in Ahmići, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, and after his release from prison, he gives religious lectures and fights against women's right to abortion, because, in his opinion, no one has the right to take a life given by God.

The massacre in Stupni Do near Vareš, in which 38 Bosniaks were killed, was carried out on October 23, 1993, by members of the Maturice and Apostoli units under the command of Ivica Rajić, who pleaded guilty in The Hague and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Rajić received his orders from Milivoj Petković, who, along with Prlić, is awaiting a final verdict in The Hague. Petković ordered Rajić to go to Vareš and sort out the situation, showing no mercy to anyone.

Among the greatest symbols of the failed state are certainly the numerous camps, including Dretelj, Heliodrom, Gabela...

The Heliodrom camp was located near Rodoč, south of Mostar, which was previously used only as an HVO helipad, whose helicopter hangars and garages were converted into prison cells.

According to the indictment of the Hague Tribunal, HVO members began holding Bosniak men in the camp from 1993 to mid-1994. The number of prisoners was approximately around 1,800 in May 1993, falling to about 500 in June.

Prisoners were subjected to psychological and physical abuse. In the most severe cases, they were forced to walk in front of HVO forces as human shields. Guards beat them, especially if the HVO was losing on the battlefield. Some prisoners were taken for forced labor, such as digging trenches or building military fortifications, as well as collecting the bodies of dead HVO soldiers.

In June 1993, the leader of HDZ, Dragan Čović, as the general director of the company Soko Mostar, sent a request to Josip Praljak, then deputy warden of the Heliodrom camp, to "allow the removal of ten prisoners for the needs of the Soko Mostar Aviation Industry, for the purpose of performing certain tasks."

The approval for the transfer of detainees was signed the next day by Stanko Božić, director of the Central Military Investigation Prison Mostar. As stated, "the departure of detainees for work outside the prison grounds was approved by Berko Pušić in a verbal conversation with director Stanko Božić."

The then Herceg-Bosna was not immune to terrorism either. Although today Croatian political representatives from BiH and Croatia consider Bosniaks to be the initiators of terrorism in these areas, and even in Europe, the event of April 18, 1993, from Vitez refutes them.

A tanker containing half a ton of explosives exploded near the mosque in Old Vitez, destroying the offices of the wartime presidency of the Bosnian authorities in Vitez, killing at least six people and injuring 50. The International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague accepted that this action could be defined as pure terrorism committed by elements within the Croatian forces that were attacking the Bosniak population of Old Vitez.

In addition to terrorism, camps, and massacres, the para-state Herceg-Bosna is also characterized by planned shelling of civilian targets such as the market in Zenica. The ICTY in The Hague accepted the thesis that the market in Zenica was shelled by the HVO on April 19, 1993, from the village of Putičevo, 15 kilometers from Zenica, killing 15 and wounding 50 civilians. The shells arrived in three waves of two each, at 12:10, 12:24, and 12:29.

Two artillery pieces were used: D-30 J Howitzers, manually loaded with a slow rate of fire. It was a professionally executed artillery attack with the help of an observer. Two Danish members of ECMM visited the scene of the massacre immediately after the shelling and photographed the crime scene. The photographs showed scenes of devastation of the market, scattered bodies on the ground, destroyed cars and a bus stop, and damaged buildings. Croats blamed Serbs for the massacre, but the ICTY rejected such claims in the Kordić case.[38]

The killings and torture in the camps were accompanied by the systematic destruction of cultural monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which testified to the centuries-long existence of BiH as a state. The main symbol of Mostar and Herzegovina, the Old Bridge, was destroyed on November 9, 1993, when the whole world was stunned by this monstrous act of the HVO.

The HVO destroyed the Old Bridge as part of a campaign of shelling and terrorizing Mostar. The day before, the HVO began the campaign of destroying the bridge by firing dozens of projectiles at its arch and towers, which culminated in its final destruction the following day.

After the publication of 36 transcripts of Franjo Tuđman, it can be concluded that the destruction of the bridge was part of a deliberate campaign of aggression by Croatia, which, among other things, was reflected in urbicide.

The International Court in The Hague announced that the final verdict for the Herceg-Bosna six (Prlić, Praljak, Ćorić, Petković, Stojić, Pušić), who were sentenced to 111 years in prison in the first instance at the Hague Tribunal for a joint criminal enterprise, would be delivered in November.

The final verdict would be a kind of gift for the 24th birthday.