Gojko Beric looks at the formation of the Croatian Community of Herceg Bosna in the June 9, 1997, issue of the Split weekly Feral Tribune.
An old package can always get a new wrapping. At the end of May, in Neum, Croatian Community of Herceg - Bosna was established, and it has its Parliament and Council.
According to the interpretation of its founders, it came to be from the need of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croats to insure political unity in solving the most important questions of national interest. By the interpretation of the same orchestra,, the new community is completely non - political and without state characteristics. But, one would have to wait and see. The first serious doubts are caused by the fact that installed in its Council is the whole HDZ top of Bosnia and Hercegovina - Bozo Rajic, Ivan Bender, Jadranko Prlic, Kresimir Zubak and Vlado Soljic. There are other signs too that politics is in question here, and not gangas /traditional Croat Hercegovina singing/. The essence of the matter was uncovered , maybe unwillingly, the president of the Bosniak - Croat Federation, Vlado Soljic, stating in Neum: The Federation is a good thing, but we are cautious.
The formation of HZ Herceg-Bosna was received in Sarajevo with suspicion, as a new blow of the HDZ to the unified state of Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. The reflectors are mainly directed at the speech by Bozo Rajic at the founding session in Neum, at which the HDZ leader stated that Washington and Dayton acts created a state which, from the theoretic - legal aspect has no precedent in history, adding specifically that internal preconditions for the existence of this state almost do not exist.And since Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state does not function - which is true - the Croats will create for themselves a mini - state which will function !
In the essential goals and nature of the institutions of the newly formed Croatian community it is easy to recognize the spirit and structure of the para state formation of yore. Even Cardinal Vinko Puljic - undeniably one of the most positive personalities in the current Bosnia - declined that the bishops Conference becomes a constitutive element of the new Neum structure. The Croatian National Council, headed by Ivo Komsic also reacted by stating that HZ Herceg - Bosna in a new form represents a structure of the HDZ, which wants to push under its roof all Croatian parties, cultural and scientific institutions, even the Catholic church, and that because of this, it represents another political failure.
Izetbegovic was quite reserved in the assessment of the situation. In the interview to Dnevni Avaz he said that the renewed establishment of the Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna is a bad sign, but that the real test of what is going on here will be further Croatian relation towards the Federation. The key things for Izetbegovic are the organization of the federal police, the activation of the City Council in Mostar and the return of the exiled Bosniak to Stolac. We do not have anything against the establishment of any cultural community, although it is somewhat cynical that a cultural community bears a name with which so many uncivilized things are tied to, says Izetbegovic.
The complicating of relations between Sarajevo and Zagreb reached a critical phase. The meeting between Tudjman and Izetbegovic, announced more than two months ago was postponed due to reasons that could be seen by any reader of daily papers. The scandalous speech of certain Zlatan Mija Jelic in Mostar, at the medal awards to the members of Croatian Defence Council, has hurt the Bosniaks. Jelic came to Mostar as Tudjmans envoy. He said that the Croatian policeman and Croatian soldier are guarantors that the tyrant from East will never again build minarets at the bell towers of our churches.
Izetbegovic is not dependent anymore on Tudjman as he was during the war in Bosnia. It could be even said that he is at a certain advantage in the dialogue which will occur soon. Tudjman himself was the one who brought him into this advantage with his two faced policy towards Bosnia and Hercegovina, with which he came into conflict with the US. The feathers are flying away from the fake Croatian democracy, so that for the first time Izetbegovic has a chance to bring Tudjman in trouble on his own terrain. If the Bosniak leader does not succeed in this time too, then it is really time that he stops working in such serious trade as is the politics.
Source: Split weekly Feral Tribune, June 9, 1997
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