The correlation between the political situations in Croatia and among the Bosnian Croats and the influence of those on the Bosnia and Herzegovina elections and wider, is examined by Tatijana Tagirova of the Zagreb magazine "Arkzin" in the September 9, 1998, issue of the Belgrade daily "Danas."

For the first time since he became president of sovereign Croatia, the "father of all things," Dr. Franjo Tudjman is confronted with serious shaking of his concept of rule: the one which has its foundation in Herzegovina and Herzegovinians. Even though it was thought that this concept of his will be more seriously attacked only during the forthcoming elections in Croatia, it is already happening with the current elections in Bosnia.

Now came the decision of the international community that during the Bosnian elections, the candidates of the HDZ will be ejected from the electoral race. not only because of their behavior in pre-electoral activities, but because of outrageous activity within the Croatian confines: the reporting of Croatian television.

The Croatian television is acting exactly in a manner in which it acts during the Croatian elections, and as it acts with all the news and events. For years, there is an ongoing war with the regime to allow a different opinion than that of the ruling party. But so far, the international community has been closing its eyes to the fact that the neighboring Herzegovina, judging by all, was more a part of Croatia than of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that its status was closer to a status of a Croatian province.

From the beginning it is almost impossible to differentiate the Croatian army from the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), since their purse is the same. For example, even today, the members of the HVO are receiving their pensions from the Croatian pension fund.

While there are no free textbooks for students of Croatian basic schools, due to general lack of funds, they re secured for the young Herzegovinians, in the same manner that they have a secure quota in student dorms and when enrolling into Croatian universities. The social security system is also a joint one, and recently it became known that even child security funds travel from the Croatian State purse to the neighboring state.

Here is a concrete example: the Croatian police allows the Croats from Herzegovina (in difference to the treatment of Croats from Posavina or any other part of the BiH, from whom it demands at least a statement of former residence) to register their residence in Croatia without any prerequisites: it is enough to register at a certain address in Croatia to get a Croatian identity card.

But now, not only have the dreams of filling of the Croatian bread loaf gone awry, but also the Herzegovinians have divided in tow halves, whereas the renegade HDZ members supporting Kresimir Zubak recognize Bosnia and Herzegovina as a unified state. If so, one of the main levers of the current regime has been attacked: the state television. There re indications that the Croatian opposition could finally come united to the forthcoming election. Here, the Herzegovina votes could turn out to be the missing link for the ruling HDZ.



Source: Belgrade daily "Danas," September 9, 1998