HDZ's new German enemy

By: Armin ALJOVIC

The recent German initiative of 'civic nationhood' of BiH was strongly opposed by the Croats. The delegate at the European parliament, Juratovic, was fiercely attacked by some media, including a few in the neighboring Croatia. Instead of discussing the 'civic nationhood' with arguments, noise and rage prevailed.

In the meantime, Covic went to Brussels and uttered a saving proposal: While it is a German initiative indeed, its constitution has to be agreed in BiH. Since he was referring to an 'agreement', how could Covic claim that changes of the Electoral law of BiH will be 'adopted for sure’? When it comes to some politicians, we could say: As soon as they pull down one mask, another one pops up.

The German initiative was not welcomed by the Croats, and Dragan Covic immediately after mobilized HDZ's electoral body long before general elections.

The results of the surveys run by an independent international agency with credibility will soon reveal that presently HDZ and Covic, contrary to what they claim, are not very popular among the Croat voters. For Covic, loss of power does not only mean the loss of political position; there is a great likelihood for some previous court cases in which Covic was involved on the suspicion of multimillion crimes, to be renewed. The cases that were put ad acta because of political pressure on the judiciary.

When it comes to mobilizing voters in BiH, few tactics have proven more efficient than 'endangering' their ethnicity.

HDZ controlled media, backed up by Croatia, have been repeatedly and systematically spreading information that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel is pushing for BiH to change its constitution and legislation so that it looks more like a citizen-centered country, instead of an ethnic-centered country as it now, in which the rights of three constitutive peoples are often far from logical solutions.  

As is often the case, the government in Sarajevo will not bother to inform us about the initiative; we can work something out only from the Croat media attacks. Euro parliamentarian Igor Soltes said to Patria that the idea has existed in the EU Parliament for several years now, yet it has the same intensity now as it did a few years ago.

However, this all has not prevented HDZ from announcing via media Merkel's 'plan from hell' combined with comments about the Turkish president Erdogan and that the Osman empire is returning to the Balkans only to finish off the Croats. Or, those few Croats who managed to survive HDZ.

What does 'civic nationhood' mean in BiH? International law and the European Union do not know regional constituency. By mere accepting one paradoxal nationalistic concept within its borders, Europe would have made a dangerous precedence and let the cancer cells spread in its own body. Just recently, Europe celebrated numerous victories over the concept that she is today offered by HDZ BiH and HDZ Croatia. Any then comes Covic as a trip leader to Europe.

Bosnian Croats should be a constitutive nation across the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, but they keep being pushed into ghettoing within several municipalities in West Herzegovina. Why are Croats offered the option that is a losing one in the short term, and catastrophic in the long run?

Bosnian Croats are constantly intimidated with rhetoric that, in the case Bosnia and Herzegovina become a civic nationhood, it would mean the end of Croats, as Bosniaks as the majority could overvote Croats. What they are not being told though is that, there are proven mechanisms which can prevent gerrymandering of any nation.

Judging by the number of Croats leaving west Herzegovina, HDZ has been gerrymandering its own people. One could say that HDZ's starting point are its own logic and concept. A liar always fears being lied to.

Bosniaks are a European nation. They are present in 30-ish parties and various political options, from the liberals to the center and the left. The Croats are served one party (HDZ) and one politics. Serbs have two parties and one politics. Mantra about 'endangered Croats' keeps getting chanted, more and more. How easy it is to arrive at endangerment is proven by these sudden and unexpected 'German enemies'.