OHR on the Assembly of HZ HB: Harmful Even for the Citizens Living There

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – Reviving ideas from wartime is irresponsible and will only further worsen the situation, assessed the OHR, after the Assembly of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia was held in Mostar on Wednesday. 

This self-proclaimed body within the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established in 1991, renamed a few years later into the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, and finally abolished in 1994. For most Bosniaks and Serbs of Herzegovina and Central Bosnia, it represents a reminder of the horrors of war. 

The President of the HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, thinks differently. During the Assembly of HZ HB in Mostar, he stated that „we must preserve something that is too valuable, and that is the name Herzeg-Bosnia...“ 

„I want this assembly to elect adequate leadership, first and foremost a president of the assembly who can lead until we achieve our full equality across the entire territory of BiH, represented through legitimate representatives of Croats at every level. Until then, we must fully organize HZ HB and all other institutions of the Croatian people and seek unity“, said Čović.
 
The messages from the Assembly of HZ HB are not acceptable to the OHR, the international institution responsible for overseeing the implementation of the civilian aspects of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 
“All public figures and authorities should refrain from irresponsible and undesirable allusions to the tragic recent past of this country. Bearing in mind that more than half of BiH's citizens live at or below the poverty line, and that it is estimated that in the last five years 170,000 people have left BiH, playing the card of divisions from the past and engaging in and reviving ideas from wartime is irresponsible and will only further worsen the situation, including for the citizens living in the part of the country to which the issue pertains. Such moves are actually counterproductive to the interests of those citizens whose interests are supposedly being protected“, says Ljiljana Radetić, Senior Advisor for External and Media Relations at the OHR, for the news agency Patria.

„The High Representative and the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council continuously express their commitment to the territorial integrity and fundamental structure of BiH as a unique, sovereign state consisting of two entities, stating that there will be no redrawing of the map of BiH. The OHR appeals to all political leaders to stop living in the past and to invest their energy in reconciliation and securing a European future for BiH, for the benefit of all citizens“, says Radetić.