Croats in BiH have differing views on future

15/12/2005

Prior to the conflict in BiH, Croats were the smallest of the country's three ethnic populations, and many feel shortchanged by the current political divisions. In Herzegovina, traditionally a hardline bastion, many are calling for the creation of a third entity. Other Croats disagree, arguing instead that BiH should leave separatism behind and seek a multiethnic future.

By Antonio Prlenda for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo – 14/12/05

A girl places flowers on a recently unveiled monument to the last Bosnian queen, Katarina. All three ethnic groups honour Katarina, but for different reasons: Croats look to her Catholic identity, Muslims see her as a symbol of Bosnia and Herzegovina's lasting statehood, and Serbs empathise with the loss of her children to the Ottomans. [Getty Images]

Ten years after the end of the bitter conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the country's Croats see their future in different ways. There is no consensus among them about the desired political organisation of the country.

Before the conflict, Croats were the smallest of the three ethnic groups in BiH. As of 1991, they amounted to about 17.6 per cent of the BiH population. There has been no subsequent census since then, but the general assumption is that the current percentage is smaller. During and after the conflict, many emigrated to foreign countries -- first and foremost neighbouring Croatia.

In Sarajevo, the number of Croats has declined sharply.

"BiH is my country; I was born here. But it is wrong to expect that Croats forget their ethnic identity and consider themselves only as Bosnians or Herzegovinians," said 36-year-old grocery store owner Ivica Talanga. "In Sarajevo, I am an equal citizen. But I understand the problem of parents who are afraid that their children would lose their Croatian language and traditions in predominantly Bosniak schools and society. I believe the constitiution of a state with several economic regions and a carefully developed educational system that protects ethnic rights would provide a solid basis for a better future for the whole of BiH," she said.

Nearly all Croats are critical of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) signed ten years ago. But their attitude toward the present and future depends mainly on the current circumstances in the BiH regions in which they live.

Traditionally, the most hardline political leanings among Croats are found in Herzegovina, in southwestern BiH. The Croat population there has always favoured tight links with Croatia. Today, many there argue that they would be better off if Croatians had an entity of their own, just as Bosnian Serbs have with RS.

Andjelko Barun from Livno, the 40-year old head of HVIDRA -- an organisation of Croat war invalids -- believes the only good thing about the DPA is the fact that it ended the bloodshed.

"The state is falling into chaos. The DPA provided very a confused state mechanism that is useful only for irresponsible politicians to enrich themselves rather than advancing the interests of the ordinary citizens they represent," he said. "The Dayton Accords were not the right thing because they did not provide similar rights for the three major ethnic groups. The only right thing now would be to establish three entities instead of two, one for each constitutive ethnic group."

Barun does not believe that creating more than three regions is a viable solution. That idea reminds him too much of the former Yugoslavia.

"No small version of Yugoslavia would be good for Croats. In such states, we are not in a position to develop our language and traditions because Croats are a minority population," said Barun.

Zdravko Beslic, a 40-year-old journalist from Posusje, also believes three entities would be a better solution for Croats in BiH.

"The Serbs have their own entity, while in the Federation, we are outnumbered by Muslims. For example, no Croat political representative supports a joint state broadcast system, but it was created by law anyway. The issue was put to the Constitutional Court and the two Croat judges did not support it either, but the law stands regardless."

Beslic says he is born in BiH and considers it his country. But under current circumstances, he does not feel like a citizen.

"In sport events, I teach my son to cheer for Croatia, because I can not be emotionally attached to BiH as long as the state is organised as it is now," Beslic says.

Contrasting opinions can be heard in Posavina, a region in north central BiH. Most of its territory is now in the RS, while Croats in its Federation part constitute a majority over Bosniaks. Because of this situation, local Croats do not see any advantage to creating three monoethnic entities, since they would probably not be included in the territory of a "Croat" entity created under such an arrangement. Instead, they would probably lose their constitutive status in the Serb or Bosniak monoethnic entities and face worse conditions than they do today.

The Croats of Posavina are dwindling in number. According to Catholic Franciscan Mirko Filipovic, young Croats he talks with typically want to leave the country.

"Dayton is only a symbol," he said. "I would not say that it ended the war either, because the war was really ended by combat operations and the situation at the battlefront. Dayton put BiH in a bad position. It provides benefit only to those who became rich in a bad environment. At Posavina the refugees began to return only five years after the war. And it was not in huge numbers, but only on a house-by-house basis. In essence, Croats do not see future for themselves in this state."

"The only good solution would be constitutional reform that would organised the country in several multiethnic regions in which no ethnic group would be in clear majority," the 50-year-old Franciscan says. "But the regions must be based not on political solutions but on logical and economic terms."