President Milanović Proposes National Security Council Session to Prime Minister

In a letter today to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović proposed that a session of the National Security Council (NSC) be convened.  The reason for his initiative is the danger that Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be able to elect their representatives to government bodies, that they will lose equality and their constitutional rights since the election in that state is planned to be held under the existing discriminatory election law, which will prevent the Croats from electing their legitimate representatives in government bodies.

President Milanović’s letter in which he explains the details of his proposal for convening the NSC follows:

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

As you are know the election process is officially under way in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the Central Election Commission in that state has made a decision to call a general election. The election should be held without amending the existing election law, which is discriminatory for the Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, therefore it is certain that the election process will prevent the Croats of BiH from legitimately electing their representatives to government bodies. Conducting the election according to the existing law, the Croats of BiH, as one of the three constituent peoples, will lose their equality and constitutional rights guaranteed by the Dayton Agreement.

It is the national interest and obligation of the Republic of Croatia, both in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and as signatory to the Dayton agreement, to protect the rights of Croats in BiH who are also Croatian nationals, thus EU nationals. Also, the preservation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s the stability is a Croatian national interest since we share the longest border and have strong economic ties. Any political destabilization of the neighbouring country directly affects the Republic of Croatia’s security and denying the BiH Croats the right to elect their own representatives undoubtedly poses a threat to the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I regrettably have to note that Croatia’s partners in the EU and NATO have done almost nothing for the election law to be amended and ensure the Croats in BiH the right to elect their own representatives. Moreover, actions by some of the representatives of the international community went systematically against that, challenging the constitutional rights of the BiH Croats. Neither public warnings by the Croatian authorities nor efforts by Croatian diplomats, who tried to be cooperative, have yielded any results, quite the contrary, they have been entirely ignored by our partners.

It is natural that Croatia’s partners in the EU and NATO expect understanding and support from the Republic of Croatia when their national interests are at stake. Croatia has extended its support until now without setting conditions because we considered it right and in the spirit of our membership in those alliances. However, when it comes to the Republic of Croatia’s national interests, these same partners did not and do not show the same level of understanding and support. Croatia not only lacks the support it expects regarding the protection of the status of the BiH Croats, it also does not enjoy sincere and true support of its partners in terms of its bid to join the Schengen Area and the OECD. Unfortunately, our partners did not demonstrate enough interest to support Croatian aspirations for membership in these organizations, nor did they support Croatian views on the protection of the rights of the Croats of BiH. Exactly the opposite, they frequently supported third party views instead of Croatia’s views as a member of EU and NATO.

In a situation such as this the Republic of Croatia is forced to warn its partners once again that it expects their support, just as they count on Croatia’s support when their national interests are at stake. To be precise, the Republic of Croatia understands Finland and Sweden’s concern for their own security in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and supports in principle the partner states’ aspiration to join NATO. Finland and Sweden have recognized NATO membership as an instrument of protection of their national interests, and their wish to join NATO is legitimate. I also understand the wish of other allies for the two states to be admitted.

Nonetheless, I find totally unacceptable the lack of such understanding for the national interest of the Republic of Croatia, which is also a full-fledged member of both alliances. Just as Finland and Sweden know what their national interest is, so does Croatia know what its national interest is. In this context, I stress as a Croatian interest the need for accelerating BiH’s path to EU membership, especially if the EU will give candidate status to Ukraine under a fast-track procedure on account of the newly-developed circumstances. Croatia cannot accept this unless this fast-track procedure for Ukraine unless the same status is given to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would certainly stabilize the situation not only in that state but in the whole of South East Europe, which, hopefully, is everyone’s goal. One cannot expect Croatia do have understanding and extend support to our partners when they want to protect their national interests if it encounters silence and a lack of understanding when Croatia expects to be reciprocated. For me as president of the Republic of Croatia, this is totally unacceptable and, after all, contrary to the spirit of partnership.

I deem that our partners’ lack of understanding and double standards of partnership are putting us in a situation where we will have to take more resolute measures to protect Croatian national interests due to the failure of diplomatic efforts so far. When I speak of the rights of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, if our partners do not want or cannot exert influence on Bosniak representatives to agree to amendments to the election law, then Croatia must insist that the High Representative in BiH use his powers to impose solutions that will guarantee Croats in BiH the right to elect their own representatives.

After all it is clear that if Croatia does not fight for its own national interests no one else will. Just as we defended ourselves and won in the Homeland War, without anyone’s assistance, so too we must now act as a sovereign state that protects its interests, and demonstrate that the Republic of Croatia is an equal member of the EU and NATO.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I therefore propose convening a session of the National Security Council on this matter to discuss and try to formulate a common position that will reflect the protection of Croatian national interests. Even though I believe that protecting the rights of the BiH Croats is reason enough to convene a session of the National Security Council, we can discuss and determine at the session the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for Croatia’s security, as you have already proposed.”