Four parties, members of the Croatian National Assembly (HNS) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, sent an open letter to the current leadership of the HNS on Saturday, calling for its immediate reorganization and a return to the original principles of unity and equality.
The letter was signed by the presidents of the Croatian Democratic Union 1990, Ilija Cvitanović, the Croatian National Movement, Ivan Vukadin, the Croatian Democratic Union, Ivo Tadić, and the Croatian Peasant Party, Mario Karamatić. The key reason for their dissatisfaction was, as they claim, the long-standing abuse of the HNS for political and personal purposes.
“The HNS must return to the fundamental principles on which it was founded – unity, collective responsibility, and acting in the general interest of the Croatian people in BiH,” states the open letter.
The parties are demanding equal participation of all members of the HNS in making political decisions, greater inclusion of members in communication with the institutions of the Republic of Croatia, and the cessation, as they claim, of the unilateral interpretation and representation of the HNS’s positions by a single political center.
They also call for an end to using the HNS against its own members, especially, as they stated, in election campaigns, and insist on the implementation of conclusions from the Assembly sessions, which they claim have so far remained without concrete application, as stated in the open letter.
The document proposes the inclusion of independent experts, representatives of the Church, and prominent individuals in the future reorganization of the HNS to restore public trust and strengthen its role as a non-partisan and umbrella institution for Croats in BiH.
“The HNS must represent the general interest of the Croatian people, not be a tool for personal promotion of individuals,” the signatories stated.
As priorities for future actions, they emphasize the urgent adoption of a new Election Law of BiH based on legitimate political representation, speeding up BiH’s Euro-Atlantic integration, and supporting state institutions.
The signatories called on the current leadership of the HNS to propose a concrete model of reorganization, after which, they say, they are ready for dialogue and potential re-engagement in the active work of the HNS BiH.
Written by our correspondent D.I.
