Advisor to Gordana Grlić Radman invokes 'Herceg-Bosna'

(Patria) - A guest on the program "RTVHB", the media outlet of Čović's HDZ, was Domagoj Knežević, advisor to the head of Croatian diplomacy, Gordana Grlić Radman.

Knežević referred to the creation of the para-state entity "Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna".

„Those were extremely difficult wartime circumstances. The Serbian war machinery controlled over 70% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1992, through the formation of the Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna and the Croatian Defence Council, Croatian forces and the Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina essentially prevented the collapse of BiH“, he said.

-International peace plans in 1992 and 1993 did not yield results. The Serbian side did not want to give up the occupied territory, the Muslim-Bosniak side was understandably dissatisfied with what was offered to them, only the Croats agreed, as they did with all international peace plans.

Those circumstances clearly indicated that a format of institutions was needed that would legitimately represent the interests of Croats in BiH.

We had institutions of the Serb people, official Sarajevo was protecting Bosniak-Muslim interests. What remained was to create an institution that could negotiate about the future of BiH, Knežević states.

- In September 1993, units of the Army of BiH attempted to reach Neum, which would have been a catastrophe for the Croatian national interest. President Tuđman told international representatives that the Croatian army would have to be involved in defending the national interest, meaning Croatia would have been cut in half. Tuđman supported the idea of the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna from the beginning; he knew that someone had to negotiate on behalf of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Croats, he says.

- "HRHB" was legally integrated into the institutions of the Federation of BiH. "The Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna" was legally incorporated into the institutions that still constitute Bosnia and Herzegovina today. The institutions of HRHB contributed exceptionally to preserving the status of Croats as a political and constituent nation.

Knežević claims today about the para-state entity created with the aim of secession from BiH:

„We can view Herceg-Bosna as a symbol of the Croats' struggle for equality. Back then, it was with weapons in war, and today the rights of Croats are protected by political means.“