Professor Ivo Banac: HNS Declaration a contradictory document of Čović's 'non-partisan' outpost

(Patria) - The HNS Declaration, "unanimously" adopted today in Mostar by Čović's "non-partisan" outpost, is a contradictory document that cautiously and with extremely carefully chosen words actually attempts what Dodik is doing openly and very aggressively, assesses Croatian historian and long-time professor at the prestigious Yale University, Professor Emeritus Dr. Ivo Banac, in a commentary for the Patria agency.

The Croatian National Assembly (HNS), chaired by Dragan Čović, who also heads the HDZ of Bosnia and Herzegovina, unanimously adopted a Declaration on Saturday defining the guidelines for the actions of Croatian political representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina through seven points, including insisting on a new internal restructuring of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as rejecting the qualification of a joint criminal enterprise, as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia assessed the policy of former leaders of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Community of Herceg Bosna towards BiH during the war in the nineties.

Professor Banac notes that the HNS Declaration, without mentioning any party, political bloc, or BiH leader, calls for a return to the "original Washington and Dayton Agreements," as if they were, Banac points out in his observation, suspended at one point, while the OHR is accused of imposing constitutional amendments which, as stated in the Declaration, have called into question "Croatian constitutionality in BiH".

"That is why the abolition of the OHR is sought, which places Čović's followers in the camp of Russian policy, which has proposed such an outcome on several occasions. In fact, they do not want fundamental changes towards consolidating BiH, but rather 'non-territorial autonomy for Croats in BiH'. In this way, they want to bypass the fact that Croats are completely disenfranchised only in the Serb entity and provide an alibi for the policy of relying on Dodik, Vučić, and Russia," assesses Professor Banac.

He is convinced that the parts of the Declaration that state that BiH's membership in the EU and NATO is the "most important foreign policy goal" of the HNS are just eyewash, "especially when it is known that only Dodik rejects such a goal, particularly when it comes to the NATO alliance."

"The points on the fight against corruption would sound more convincing if they came from a less compromised source. Historical interpretations related to the criticism of the Hague Tribunal would also be more convincing if they were not presented in the context of the struggle for territory," says Professor Banac, adding that he can only agree that for achieving 'political stability, it is necessary for all three constituent peoples to be truly constituent and equal throughout the territory of BiH'.

"However, achieving such a goal requires a different policy, certainly not Čović's, which has led Croats in BiH to the current dead end," concludes Professor Banac.