Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Tomislav Karamarko has said the European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina hinges on making sure that the Bosnian Croats are equal to the other two constituent peoples -- the Bosniaks and the Serbs -- calling on the government in Zagreb to be more active in relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"All those who want Bosnia and Herzegovina to be a member of the European Union, must realise that this can be achieved only through the equality of the Croats. This is our message to our friends Bosniaks, Serbs and others who would like to see Bosnia in the EU," Karamarko said at a news conference in Mostar on Tuesday.
Karamarko held the news conference just before the beginning of a conference on the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, organised in Mostar by the HDZ and major Bosnian Croat political parties.
The HDZ leader also criticised the imposition of a representative (from the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina) who filled in the position for the Croat member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency at the last elections and he also raised his voice against the outvoting of the Croats by the Bosniaks in the Federation (the Croat-Bosniak entity).
"I also believe that Zagreb must be more active in relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and in attempts to address problems of Bosnian Croats. This does not mean any interference," Karamarko said.
We want the three peoples to agree but that there is no agreement between two peoples to the detriment of the third, he added.
Karamarko promised the engagement of HDZ members of the European Parliament in efforts to Europeanise Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"I believe that we are in a historic period for the Croatian people. Croatia has become a full member of the EU. From that position, we are very interested in what will happen with the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina after our admission to the EU," Karamarko said.
The HDZ BiH leader, Dragan Covic, said that although they are the least numerous people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croats are a key link for connecting Bosnia to the EU.
Covic also called for the rearrangement of Bosnia and Herzegovina into four federal units, instead of the current make-up of the country consisting of the two entities: the Croat-Bosniak federation and the Serb republic. He said that the new rearrangement would reinforce the country.
The HDZ BiH leader went on to say that his party, the authorities in Croatia, including the opposition HDZ, are working together on motivating Bosnian Croat refugees to be covered by a census which Bosnia would conduct in October.
