Zvizdić to Milanović: You do not know BiH and its citizens at all, yet you easily utter harsh words

Regarding the statement by the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and current President of SDP Croatia, Zoran Milanović, in which he spoke in an extremely inappropriate manner about Bosnia and Herzegovina, denying its statehood, Denis Zvizdić, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, condemned such hate speech, which creates additional tensions and fosters negative prejudices that can have far-reaching consequences, and sent an open letter to Milanović:

- Personally, like all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was more than surprised by your immoderate statements and inappropriate comments denying the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina and insulting and belittling all its citizens who have warmly and cordially hosted you many times, even though you came not out of love for BiH, or any of its peoples, but clearly for political, or rather, pre-election purposes.

Had you wished to, and there were countless opportunities, especially during your term as prime minister, you could have cooperated and communicated very effectively with representatives of Bosnian-Herzegovinian institutions, or at least with the citizens of BiH, and learned about the true values of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the well-known moral and human qualities of the people in these regions: kindness, cordiality, openness, and perceptiveness.

Had you done so, or at least tried, I am sure that your vocabulary when speaking about the wonderful country of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its good and hardworking inhabitants would have been more pleasant and appropriate for a public figure and a high political official.

Instead, egocentrism has overcome the logic of social, economic, and political cooperation necessary for the prosperity of our inextricably linked region.

At the same time, by expressing such and similar, extremely inappropriate statements and attitudes, unacceptable for European standards of political communication, you have completely departed from the values that, as someone aspiring to a leadership position in the Republic of Croatia, and consequently to respect in the region and the EU, you should cherish and promote. You are moving from understanding and solidarity towards arrogance and belittling, from the achievements of anti-fascism towards exultation that your grandfather was a Ustaša, from reform processes towards haggling over our sovereignty, from expected and traditional support for neighbors towards engaging in petty insinuations and fabrications.

Mr. Milanović, you do not know BiH and its citizens at all, yet you easily utter harsh words and draw offensive conclusions. I do not know if your origin is from Bosnia and Herzegovina - if it is, then your statements are even more tragicomic, but I know for sure that numerous leading cultural, sports, scientific, economic, and political figures who have marked and are marking the past, present, and future of Croatia originate precisely from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Therefore, I invite you to read what leading Croatian intellectuals, such as Krleža, have written about Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose views represent timeless benchmarks of civilizational and cultural values, or, which may be more practical for you, as you are in an election campaign and likely do not have time to read, inform yourself through concrete conversations with numerous Bosnians and Herzegovinians who are established in the economic, social, or political life of Croatia and ask them if they share your opinion about the country of their fathers and grandfathers. Or, if you are sure of the correctness of your views, adopt them as the official stance of the party you lead!

I am sure you would not receive support for such a retrograde stance, clearly caused by a sudden surge of emotions at a "secret meeting" you attended.

Therefore, Mr. Milanović, you must know much more about Bosnia and Herzegovina and know it much better to draw any serious conclusions about it. And we all know what kind of people make sweeping and unfounded assessments and conclusions. Because, Mr. Milanović, words, just like deeds, leave lasting, beautiful or ugly memories and recollections, and sometimes consequences that are difficult to heal.

Nevertheless, I hope that these statements of yours were nothing more than pre-election slips of the tongue, and I would not want to believe that you truly think what you said at some secret meeting about BiH, your first and closest neighbor, because that would mean that you are and will remain alone in your attempt to erase centuries-old friendly ties between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, to trample on the fundamental values of good neighborliness, mutual understanding, and cooperation, and ultimately to disregard the principles of solidarity and equality that, among others, the party you lead cherishes.

Mr. Milanović, I want to reveal the truth that you clearly do not want to know - Bosnia and Herzegovina is a land of good, warm, intelligent, hardworking, and talented people, devoted to their homeland and loyal to fundamental civilizational values. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the land of Nobel laureates, Oscar winners, the land of Mak Dizdar, Meša Selimović, Ivo Andrić, Aleksa Šantić, Petar Aranđelović, Vladimir Prelog, a land of exceptional cultural and historical heritage, the most famous festivals, pop and rock bands with which, I hope, you also grew up, a land of universally known hospitality.

Therefore, I invite you to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, but not only during the election campaign, to get to know the true spirit and values of BiH and its inhabitants.

Until then, I suggest that you start by reading the thoughts of the great Miroslav Krleža about Bosnia in his Texts on Stećci: "May Madam Europe forgive us, she has no cultural monuments. The Inca tribe in America has monuments, Egypt has real cultural monuments. May Madam Europe forgive us, only Bosnia has monuments. Stećci. What is a stećak? The embodiment of the mountain-dwelling Bosnian. What is the Bosnian doing on a stećak? Standing upright! Head raised, hand raised! But nowhere, nowhere, never, has anyone found a stećak on which the Bosnian is kneeling and praying. On which he is depicted as a captive."

I cordially greet you and look forward in advance to the opportunity to host you in my beautiful country, Bosnia and Herzegovina - a land of good, positive, and warm people - it is stated in the letter from Zvizdić to Milanović.