Topić one of the harsher critics of HDZ, new president of Napredak establishes cooperation with Čović

MOSTAR, (Patria) - The President of HDZ BiH Dragan Čović met in Mostar with a delegation of the Croatian Cultural Society "Napredak" led by the new president Nikola Čiča, it was announced from Napredak. 

The meeting discussed the importance, humanitarian and social role of Napredak, and President Čiča presented the plan of activities of the Croatian Cultural Society Napredak and its branches for the upcoming period.

From Napredak it was announced that humanitarian activities, cultural content and social activities are the focus of future operations. Napredak will continue to nurture its identity, culture and tradition, it was emphasized at the meeting. It was also announced that HDZ President Dragan Čović congratulated the newly elected leadership of HKD Napredak, especially President Nikola Čiča, wished them much success in their future work, and expressed support for the future work and activities of HKD Napredak.

In addition to President Čiča, the meeting with Čović was attended by Napredak Vice President Miroslav Landeka, Ivana Barišić, member of the Central Board, Josip Nikolić, member of the Central Board, and Dragana Radić Poljo, head of the Professional Service of HKD Napredak.

The former president of Napredak, Franjo Topić, is one of the harsher critics of the current policy of HDZ BiH. At the conference "Political and Legal Aspects of the Constitutional Position of Croats in BiH", organized by the Croatian National Council in Sarajevo in 2017, he warned about the problem of „the difference between Herzegovinian and Bosnian Croats“. 

„All power is in the south of BiH, that is not fair and just. One cannot remain silent about injustice“, Topić told reporters before that conference, adding that in all state and federal distributions of funds, donations for Herzegovina and Bosnia differ significantly.

The former president of HKD "Napredak" Franjo Topić also emphasized that Croats in BiH are unequal "among themselves" and that something should be done about this issue.

„Bosnian Croats are silent, and since no one will give you anything, you have to fight for your rights“.

Topić is one of the critics of advocating for the formation of a third entity in BiH, which, on the other hand, Čović promotes. 

During last year's promotion of the book "Betrayal of Bosnia" by former HDZ president Stjepan Kljuić, Franjo Topić said that the attitude towards politics as a commitment to the common good in BiH has long been abandoned, which is a significant cause of the problems in which that country finds itself.

"Being a Croat and at the same time a Bosnian is a challenge for every member of the Croatian people in that country, and Kljuić is one of those who is hard to match in that regard," Topić said during that promotion.

On that occasion, Monsignor Topić also reminded of the fact that HDZ BiH won the first democratic elections in BiH in 1990 with 24 percent of the vote at a time when Croats made up 17 percent of the population, „which speaks volumes about the quality of the policy pursued while the party was led by Kljuić.“

"When the shooting started, things changed and that was no longer the time for the democratic policy of Stjepan Kljuić," Topić said, adding that Kljuić was therefore marginalized by the Croatian leadership in Zagreb, and then by the Bosniak leadership in BiH itself.