Founding Bosnia and Herzegovina on the equality of the three constituent peoples was decisive for concluding the Dayton Accords in December 1995, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Tuesday at the international conference "25 Years of the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement".
"Only on that basis was it possible to win support from the negotiating parties for ending the war and for the establishment of a territorially integrated, multinational Bosnia and Herzegovina," he said, adding that the full implementation of the agreement remained "its anchor of stability and peace."
Today BiH needs more cooperation and less divisions, and its stability and functioning greatly depend on the equality of Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, said Grlić Radman. "If that equality is not respected, it will continue to be a cause of tensions, the lack of a functioning state and possible crises."
There is no struggle between the three peoples but between those who want to stamp out that equality and impose themselves on others and those who offer a way towards European decentralisation and federalism models which see differences as a strength, not a weakness, the minister said.
"The equality of all the constituent peoples cannot be ensured without the much-needed reform of the Electoral Law. Its reform should make it possible to overcome the blockades in the functioning of the state, whereby a decisive step would be made towards the country's political stability," said Grlić Radman.
"As a signatory to the Dayton Accords and a neighbouring and friendly country, Croatia nurtures a special interest in and responsibility for Bosnia and Herzegovina's well-being and is therefore committed to and fully supports its territorial integrity as a sovereign and unified country and the equality of the three constituent peoples," he said.
"I want to be very clear, both separatist and unitarist tendencies are equally dangerous for BiH as both deny the very core of BiH, its history, present and future."
The minister said the process of Euro-Atlantic integration was key for BiH's stability, security, prosperity and democratic transformation.
He said the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement had been "the long-awaited light at the end of a dark and terrifying tunnel, the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II."
"It was the result of genuine Euro-Atlantic efforts. Negotiated in the U.S., signed in Europe, and later adopted by the UN Security Council," he said, adding that the agreement could be considered historic.
BiH's progress on the path of reform and EU and NATO membership is not only the best investment in the country's future but a way to bridge the difficult baggage of the past, he said, adding that Croatia would continue to strongly support BiH in its ambition to join the EU.
"BiH's stability is of the utmost importance for all its neighbours and all of Europe," he said.
BiH deserves our attention, understanding and support, and as a multinational state it won't achieve political stability and economic development if the political rights of its peoples are not guaranteed as they were 25 years ago with the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement, he added.
Grlić Radman said the prerequisites for concluding the agreement and establishing peace first had to be achieved on the ground.
BiH remembers the support Croatia gave it as one of the first states to recognise its independence in the most difficult period of the Slobodan Milosevic regime's aggression, and Zagreb provided shelter to hundreds of thousands of refugees, of whom 70% were Bosniaks, he said.
"Croatia also prevented the fall of Bihać, a UN safe zone, and a repeat of the Srebrenica genocide," he said, adding that "it's a historical fact that Croatia was key for the survival of BiH as an independent state."
Text: Hina