Association of Generals Reacts to Statements by Milanović and Croatian Officials: Claims that the HV Liberated BiH are Particularly Irritating!

(Patria) - The Association of Generals of Bosnia and Herzegovina has issued a statement, which the Patria Agency conveys in its entirety:

As the Association of Generals of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have always advocated and actively worked towards establishing good neighborly relations between our country and the Republic of Croatia, and of course, we will continue this practice. However, we must express our dissatisfaction and condemnation of the unprovoked, ill-intentioned reactions from the top leadership of the Republic of Croatia towards the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its institutions and judicial system, towards the reputation and honor of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its liberation efforts, as well as towards the Bosniak people and their political representatives.

In his address at the ceremonial academy on the occasion of HV Day, Croatian President Zoran Milanović announced that new indictments against Croatian officers arrived in Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of May, interpreting this move as hostility towards Croatia. It saddens us that his thoughtless statement, based on false information, was supported by almost the entire Croatian political leadership, joining in their immoderate statements to further destabilize relations between our countries. 

Milanović's statements had a provocative character, given that radical elements in the Croatian political leadership and some retired generals unleashed a barrage of insults against "official Sarajevo," and veterans' associations announced protests in front of the BiH Embassy in Zagreb.

Although the Croatian Minister of Justice soon announced that the indictments against Croatian generals were not forwarded because they do not exist, and although the BiH judiciary confirms that no indictments were forwarded to Zagreb in 2025, the damage has been done irreversibly, and the perpetrators do not even consider apologizing for spreading fake news.

In the web of passionate statements, we are particularly irritated by the claims that the HV liberated BiH, which is another blatant untruth.

The irrefutable truth is that during the liberation war, the units of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, through superhuman efforts, fearlessly and strategically organized the defense against the aggressor, and that in the period from 1992-1995, they continuously strengthened, pushed back enemy forces, and liberated the country. While it is well known to everyone, including official Zagreb, that the then President of the Republic of Croatia, Franjo Tuđman, decided that the Croatian people should leave Posavina, where the ARBiH then organized the defense. The details of the creation of so-called Herceg-Bosna are also known, which led to regular Croatian armed forces engaging in aggression during which horrific crimes were committed against the civilian Bosniak population in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, as proven by the verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. As a permanent testament to this shameful wartime involvement of Croatia in BiH, the Hague verdict on the Joint Criminal Enterprise, led by General Praljak and others, remains.

In the final phase of the war, a reciprocal military cooperation was agreed upon, which led to the liberation of occupied parts of Croatia and BiH. Joint military operations conducted in the border areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina contributed significantly to pushing back the forces of the common aggressor towards Banja Luka and Prijedor. The final liberation actions in BiH were carried out exclusively by units of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

In this regard, Milanović's earlier statements about the "Croatian" liberation of Bihać and the current ones about the liberation of BiH are the product of the fantasy of individuals who do not care about the truth and the coexistence of peoples in BiH, nor about the good neighborly relations between our countries.

We, members of the honorable and undefeated Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the recent events, express doubts about the goodwill of Croatian policy and its sincere support for BiH's European path. A country whose president, ministers, and retired military officers resort to untruths can hardly convince us that it is a sincere friend and that it supports us in joining Euro-Atlantic associations. We call for and hope that this unstatesmanlike behavior of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, which creates division between Croats and Bosniaks in BiH, as well as between our countries, will be recognized and sanctioned by relevant domestic and European institutions, as well as by the member states of the Peace Implementation Council in BiH. 

Therefore, based on the above, we can conclude:

1. Joint military operations were conducted based on the Split Agreement between the two presidents: Alija Izetbegović and Franjo Tuđman,

2. Coordinated combat actions took place on the territories of sovereign states, with the same goal and against a common aggressor,

3. These operations were mutually beneficial, and the HV carried them out exclusively for the position of its state, Croatia, and in accordance with the goals precisely defined in the Split Agreement,

4. Without questioning the benefit of joint operations for the units of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the liberation of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina is exclusively the merit of our army's units.

Finally, we cannot help but ask our neighbors a question. What would have happened to the independent and sovereign Republic of Croatia if the president of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina had supported the mobilization of the former JNA at the beginning of the aggression against their country in 1991?? Or, how would the HV have liberated the territory of the Republic of Croatia if the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina had not fought relentlessly for almost four years against the members of the so-called VRS, so-called VRSK, and JA, tying down over 150,000 of their members, who would otherwise have attacked the territory of Croatia??