SCANDAL Grlić Radman praised 'two schools under one roof', in Stolac live Croats and Muslims, Konaković and Schmidt remained silent!

Written by: Amra Vrabac

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Gordan Grlić Radman at one of the panels in Dayton held on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Elmedin Konaković, as well as the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, spoke approvingly about the principle of "two schools under one roof", and said that this principle should be applied throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Neither Konaković nor the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt reacted to such a claim. It was the High Representative who, in September 2024, on the N1 program, reacted strongly to this phenomenon and said that "this is not the 21st, but the 16th century".

Grlić Radman's claim also contradicts OSCE reports in which the authorities are continuously called upon to abolish the so-called two schools under one roof.

"The characteristics of 'two schools under one roof' vary from case to case. What they all have in common is that they segregate children, and through that segregation, children learn that there are insurmountable differences between them. In post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, this increases the level of mistrust among members of different ethnic groups, hinders reconciliation and poses a long-term threat to stability, security and economic progress. The practice of 'two schools under one roof' constitutes a violation of international conventions, as well as domestic laws. Within the framework of 'two schools under one roof', students have the legal option to enroll in either of the two schools. However, practice has shown that the school environment, including curricula, is acceptable only to members of one ethnic group. Regarding the practice of 'two schools under one roof', the court, in the cases of Stolac and Čapljina, ruled that this practice is discriminatory, but the court's decision has not been implemented," states the OSCE report from 2018.

While Grlić Radman was addressing and lecturing on what Bosnia and Herzegovina should do, presumably following the idea that if Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to join the EU it "must listen to Croatia", the silence of Konaković and Schmidt is surprising. In part of his statement, Grlić-Radman makes another mistake (probably intentional) and says that in Stolac there are two confessions, Croats and Muslims. So, he did not say Catholics and Muslims, but the intention was clearly to deny Bosniaks as one of the constituent peoples, which he tried to reduce to a religious group, as Milorad Dodik and his followers do.

“We visited a school in Stolac that was reconstructed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia. I would not call it two schools under one roof, but two programs because in that city there are two confessions - Muslims and Croats, they have special programs like everywhere in the world. The example of Stolac could be applied everywhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it is in Stolac,” said Grlić-Radman.

Scandal in Dayton. Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gordan Grlić-Radman said that the principle of two schools under one roof (separating Bosniak and Croatian children) should be changed throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We visited a school in Stolac that was reconstructed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia.… pic.twitter.com/dLxl23kU3r

— Istraga.ba (@IstragaB) May 25, 2025

Speaking further about Mostar, he then said that Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs live there. And when he said that he was born in Bugojno, he took the opportunity to point out that the number of Croats is now significantly smaller in Bugojno than before the war, and that there are no Croatian artists, poets in the street names...