Does Andrej Plenković differentiate between official visits and incursions into BiH territory?

By Haris Ljevo

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Orašje on Monday, where he opened the 22nd Croatian Film Days, organized by the well-known BiH actor with a Croatian residence, Ivo Gregurević. Before Orašje, Plenković was in Žepče and Tuzla.

- Žepče, Tuzla, Orašje, the day was truly great. Since I became prime minister, and it hasn't even been a year yet, this is my sixth visit to BiH. And I will be back again on Tuesday, in Livno, Široki Brijeg, and Mostar – said Plenković.

Most media outlets reported that this was Plenković's sixth visit to BiH, but it should be noted that these were not always officially announced visits, nor were Sarajevo among the cities visited by the Croatian prime minister on these six occasions.

Since becoming Prime Minister of Croatia, Plenković has officially visited Sarajevo twice: the first time after taking office and the second time when a joint session of the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Croatia was held in Sarajevo.

Plenković's other visits to BiH cannot be considered official visits, as he did not meet with representatives of official BiH institutions, but exclusively with representatives of the HDZ, NGOs controlled by the HDZ, and other similar organizations.

- We are sending a continuous message of support and cooperation between the two countries, especially by financing projects intended for Croats as a constituent people in BiH. I think these projects have proven very useful. We are helping all parts of BiH in a balanced way – that is how Croatia should behave responsibly towards our compatriots – said Plenković during his visit to Orašje.

This statement clearly shows that Plenković and Croatia do not have good intentions towards BiH, and that they are not pursuing any good neighborly policy. On the contrary.

If Plenković "invades" the territory of a neighboring country at the behest of Dragan Čović and the HDZ whenever he pleases, then we can talk about anything but good intentions. Andrej Plenković visited Tuzla on Monday without meeting the city's mayor, Jasmin Imamović. Imamović didn't even know Plenković was in Tuzla.

What good intentions is he talking about then? Can anyone imagine what Croatia's reaction would be if Denis Zvizdić or some other high-ranking official from BiH went to Zagreb, Split, or Rijeka without announcement and met with a representative of some non-governmental organization, while boasting in public about being on an official visit to Croatia. It would be a first-class international scandal.

When he became prime minister, Plenković was spoken of as a polished European, completely opposite to all his predecessors, a man who knows what true European values are, a man who has diplomacy at his fingertips...

The increasingly frequent incursions into BiH territory, which he and official Croatia call visits, are proof that Plenković is no different from his predecessors, and that he has no special connection to the basics of diplomacy – announcing every official visit.

No matter how much Plenković, and his predecessors, boasted about supporting Croats in BiH, they are only doing them a disservice with their attitude towards them.

The only real support for Croats in BiH is the message to focus on building a state in which they are one of three constituent peoples, rather than viewing their own country as foreign and seeking opinions and wisdom from Zagreb.

Such a message has not yet arrived from Zagreb. Unfortunately. Primarily for the Croats in BiH.