Who framed Bosnia: Similarities between Tudjman's and Grabar-Kitarovic's politics

By: Sead OMERAGIC

Did the Croatian president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic have anything else to say to the US president, Donald Trump, other than about terrorism in Bosnia and Herzegovina? How do we explain this obsessive fixation of the Croatian president on terrorism in BiH? All her public appearances seem like a well-designed destruction of the very essence of this country.

Unfortunately, a much bigger problem of this country is how easily it gets framed for terrorism instead of actual terrorism taking place in it. This country is a victim of lies skillfully implanted by its neighbors Serbia and Croatia.

Kolinda Grabar has on a number of occasions asserted that she upholds the legacy of her political father Franjo Tudjman. Analogy is quite obvious.

The key is in The Hague Tribunal. There are 5 verdicts for Croatia's aggression on BiH. They relate to organized criminal acts which also involved the Croatian government. Serbian and Croatian war politics had strategically articulated state terrorism against Bosnia and Herzegovina. In BiH, Tudjman left behind stenograms and dead bodies, while Milosevic left behind silence and dead bodies. For several months now, Grabar Kitarovic has been leaving behind her statements full of accusations of Bosnia and Herzegovina for terrorism. The aim is to relativize and, if possible, erase whatever has been happening in The Hague and what the world sees as the organized criminal act.

It is impossible to deny those facts. Recently published 'Stenograms about division of Bosnia' contain most of the statement Tudjman made in his cabinet during the meetings with the officials of HDZ and so-called Herzeg-Bosnia. He underline the importance of dividing BiH, reckoning the actual Croatian borders as 'absurd' and impossible as was to him establishing BiH as republic after the WWII 'historical absurd of renewing a colonial creation founded between the 15th and the 18th century'.

In the 2nd stenogram of 27 December 1991, Tudjman stated that BiH prevents territorial actualization of Croat state. That was the moment when definitive decision about practical division of BiH was made.

That BiH was 'unrealistic' and 'impossible' Tudjman unsuccessfully tried to convince Alija Izetbegovic on 27 March 1993 (stenogram 'Alija, I will not send you a single bullet').

Therefore, if we look at this as a political legacy bestowed upon Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic to carry forward, then we can conclude that the story about terrorism in Bosnia was served to Trump by the same token.

In the stenograms dating 14 March 1994 to 24 November 1995, which contain talks between Franjo Tudjman and the same interlocutors (HDZ BiH and Herzeg-Bosnia), Tudjman spoke about moving Croats out of BiH. The move intensified after the war, however, Tudjman did not think it tragic but the opportunity for those Croats to settle in predominantly Croat cantons in BiH or in Croatia proper as a way to achieve a better demographic picture for Croatia.  

It is important to know that for Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic accuses Bosniaks for emigration of Croats, too. Establishing a third entity was logical for Tudjman's politics and so is for Kolinda's, for which she has already demonstrated her commitment.

The story about endangerment of Croats in BiH, spread by HDZ BiH and endorsed by Kolinda Grabar Kitarevic, is provisional and has a serious analogy with Tudjman's stenograms. Tudjman was demanding from his associates to enter all pores of Federation so it could work for the Croat interests. He demanded use of Croat language in Croat cantons and at the federal level, opening of schools with Croat curriculum, he allowed Bosniaks to obtain Croat citizenship, he promoted 'kuna' as the main currency etc.

Renowned intellectual, Ivan Lovrenovic says that the stenograms reveal how Tudjman wished to annex parts of BiH to Croatia even before the war. This is not about the politics as a consequence of some difficult, war political circumstances for Bosnian Croats, but rather about defined politics that tried to be implemented taking advantage of the said circumstances.

According to Lovrenovic, we will not get to 'see the light about the sin made in Bosnia', considering that the entire Croat political scene, as well as, per Tudjman of 1990, the critical opposition and the church, are trying to relativize Tudjman's politics in Bosnia. Slandering BiH in front of Trump shows hypocritical attitude towards BiH. It was happening at the time of a joint session of the two governments in Sarajevo. Such important meeting had to be based on mutual trust.