GAMES ABOUT THE FEDERATION

AIM, Zagreb, June 1, 1994

Kresimir Zubak, a Croat, has become the President of the Muslim-Croat Bosnian Federation which is, according to him, an expression of resoluteness of these two nations to reconstruct Bosnia-Herzegovina, but that they are keeping its doors open for the Bosnian Serbs. His Vice-President, Ejup Ganic, adds that "establishment of the Federation is the greatest strategic defeat of Serbian fascism", but at the same time, he sends word to "Karadzic's Serbs": "condemn the crimes, return what is not yours and enter the Federation." But, the Constitutional Assembly was not altogether idyllic, it proved, as Haris Silajdzic said that "there are forces which are obstructing the implementation of the Constitution, and even openly preventing it". Therefore, the implementation of the Constitution pursuant the Vienna agreement on the cantons is somewhat postponed beacuse a part of the Herzegovinians are still resisting the exchange of "their own state" for a joint one.

The new Federation is just as odious to the supporters of the idea of Greater Serbia as it is to the militant and the extremist ledearship of the Croats from Herzegovina. After Washington, and especially after the maps in Vienna which included two mixed, Muslim-Croat, or Croat-Muslim cantons, a rebellion broke out in Herzegovina. Rallies were held for days on end in Vitez, because the whole Lasva valley, just like Kiseljak, Kresevo and Fojnica are within the mixed, predominantly Muslim canton according to the maps. There were cries at these rallies that the Croatian people from the region were tricked, questions echoed how it was possible to sign the Vienna agreement without having asked the people who lived there for their opinion. Women in mourning held speeches saying that they would not allow the Muslims to be their masters.

Although Herzeg-Bosnia terrorized its own population, such loud refusal of the Vienna "coexistent" solution should not be a surprise. For two years the people there were convinced that it was impossible to live with the others, that separation was necessary, and that their only hope for happiness could be found in their own state, and now Zagreb is offering them mixed cantons with those whom it demonized until yesterday. They practically had what they are being promised now, so they rightfully ask what did they fight for. The question why the war was fought at all cannot be avoided. Thousands of people were killed, Central Bosnia was burned to the ground, Mostar was destroyed, and now they are back to where they used to be, and to what was claimed to be unedurable. To accept it would mean to admit the futility of their sacrifice. To accept the deception. The people are naturally confused because of this turn, but then their frustrations are also abused and exaggerated on purpose. The "spontaneous" protests are carefully organized, and as Zubak said, the people are pushed by those who do not have any interest in the Washington and the Vienna agreement, most commonly for very prosaic reasons - because they are losing their statelet in Herzegovina, and with it the possibility of exercising uncontrolled power and shamelessly making enormous war profits. It is their interest which is suggesting that this agreement means defeat and that a new Bleiburg is in line for the Croats.

A recent commentary in the "Slobodna Dalmacija" daily goes along these lines, speaking of Vienna agreements as of capitulation of the Croatian party, because they are allegedly "below anything proposed to the Croats so far". The commentary says that the Croats are petrified with the agreement on creation of mixed cantons, especially since Western Herzegovina, as a Croatian canton has been left without Mostar, Capljina, Neum, Prozor and Citluk, and even without the Virgin Mary sanctuary Medjugorje, while the Sava River canton still remains to be fought for. "Slobodna Dalmacija" concludes that after such an "inconceivable agreement", suspicion remains that the Croatian delegation has a gun pointed at the back of its neck when it agreed to anything of the kind. It is not insignificant to mention that the author of the text was recently appointed editor-in-chief of this daily.

Jadranko Prlic, Prime-Minister of the self-proclaimed Herzeg-Bosnia, recently said that 10 to 15 per cent of the population of his state are against the Washington agreement. This is sufficient for a serious rebellion, and it seems that the message was addressed directly to President Tudjman. Frequent explosions also illustrate the atmosphere orevailing in Herzegovina - in the premises of the Government of Herzeg-Bosnia in Vitez, and in some mosques. Local media report that this is an expression of discontent with the canton proposals. The situation in Herzegovina was on the verge of armed resistance. Just as there was a threat that the Croats from the Sava River valley and other parts of Bosnia would resist his policy when President Tudjman prophesized at the time that it is in the interest of the Croats in Bosnia&Herzegovina to create their own, as he said, territorial compactness, which implied the so-called humane moving of people. The same as ferocious Croats called the refugees to protest after the signing of the Washington Agreement. Because of the possible explosion of discontent, Zubak decided not to return to Herzeg-Bosnia. It was assessed in Zagreb that it was better to invite the Herzeg-Bosnian ruling structures to the Presidential mansion.

And thus, President Tudjman got the opportunity to line up, on his own grounds, 140 representatives of Croats from Bosnia&Herzegovina, deputies in the assembly of the self-proclaimed Herzeg-Bosnia, its civilian and military leadership, the prominent members of the Bosnian Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), and to try to convince them that the Vienna map must be signed, because that was "the most that could be accomplished in the existing historical circumstances". Again, while the Constitutional Assembly was in session in Sarajevo, Tudjman received the Herzegovina leadership in his mansion. He promised them again that he would not leave them, that Croatia would help in the reconstruction of the destroyed region, and he recommended establishing relations with Croatian cities. Since direct annexation is not possible, it is obvious that another, roundabout way to link Herzegovina to Croatia as intimately as possible is being sought. So much was published, but since the talks went on behind closed doors, it is possible that there were other promises. The fact that, without any scruples, the Croatian payment facility is in circulation in Herzegovina also implies this - yesterday it was the Croatian dinar, and now its exchange for the "kuna" has already begun. In this way, Herzegovina is included in the monetary system of Croatia, therefore it is hypocritical when it protests that Serbia is incorporating the Krajina into its system by way of money.

The newly-established Muslim-Croatian Federation is interpreted among the Croats in two ways which coincide only in the fact that it is a transitional solution. Ivo Komsic, a member of the Bosnian Presidency and the President of the Croatian National Committee, claims that the Federation is by no means a final solution, but a way to reintegrate parts of Bosnia&Herzegovina, and even the regions which are at the moment under Serbian occupation. Kresimir Zubak is close to this opinion, speaking of "an internal re-organization, and not division of B&H". In a TV program, he recently claimed that Vienna maps with mixed cantons are an optimum solution, because global Croatian interests were taken into account, and not just wishes of a single region, so that possible new territorial conflicts between the Muslims and the Croats could be avoided. But, other members of the Herzeg-Bosnian leaderships also participated in the same program, so it was impossible to conceal how profound, and even irrecocilable their differences were. Even while accepting it, since at the moment it was impossible not to, Ivan Bender and Dario Kordic insisted that the implementation of the agreement be postponed, saying: it remains to be seen what it would look like in practice. At the same time, they do not wish to reject Herzeg-Bosnia, sticking to it, "until the Federation begins to function", so it is obvious that they wish to push the Federation as far into the future as possible, and to fortify the structure of the self-proclaimed Herzeg-Bosnia. They also insist that without a confederation with Croatia there can be no Federation either. The spokesman of this stance, the Croatian Defense Minister and the man who "was not just a pigeon letter-carrier between Zagreb and Grude", Gojko Susak, declared on TV just a few nights ago, without hesitation, that the Federation is just a transitional solution, that the Vienna agreement must be signed, but that it remains to be seen what and when would be be the outcome. Trying to convince the Herzegovinians to give their consent, Susak also said that in the confederation with Croatia, Croats from Bosnia-Herzegovina were not a minority, but a majority nation.

It is obvious that men who serve Tudjman, as he himself admitted, to implement his policy ("including the organization of resistance to the one and the other aggression in Bosnia&Herzegovina and including elimination of those men who have become an obstacle to this policy"), have not given up their intentions, but are trying to accomplish them by other means. Instead of a division of Bosnia&Herzegovina between the Croats and the Serbs - annexation of the entire Croatian-Muslim Federation to Croatia. This would mean accomplishment of the objective the Croatian President spoke about after his return from Karadjordjevo, according to well-informed sources, claiming that Croatia would be greater than it had ever been. In the interviews he gave on the Statehood Day, Tudjman convinced Herzegovina Croats that the Vienna agreements were better even than the annexation of Western Herzegovina and mentioned the assessment of an American councellor of the Bosnian Government who, having analysed the Washington agreement, came to the conclusion that Bosnia was being given as a gift to Croatia. Tudjman says that, according to him, "the Federation of Bosnia&Herzegovina, by agreement, i.e. by decision of the USA, Europe and Russia, was placed under protectorate of Croatia", and he obviously finds the idea attractive.

Although he has signed the Washington Agreement, and seems to be accepting the Vienna maps, Tudjman is obviously interpreting them in such a way that he can easily say that concerning Bosnia&Herzegovina he made no turns. Rumours in Zagreb say that Mate Granic, Croatian Foreign Minister, offered his resignation for having undermined the Washington agreement. In the meantime, Tudjman convinced the Herzegovinians to raise their hands in favour of the Federation in Sarajevo. But, just a day after the session of the Sarajevo Assembly where the leadership of the Federation was elected, the first electoral assembly of the HDZ was held in Novi Travnik, as part of the preparations for the convention of the party to be held in the beginning of July. It was declared that "the people of the region does not accept the new maps, and HDZ takes sides with the people who has shed so much blood". Dario Kordic screamed again that "there will be no federation of the Croats and the Muslims without a confederation with Croatia. That is the limit below which the Crotian people will not go". Kordic likes emphatic words, but that there is a system in this madness could be suggested by the fact at the same time, on the occasion of the Statehood Day, President Tudjman awarded a medal to Slobodan Praljak who is considered to be responsible for the destruction of the Old Mostar Bridge. Honour to the destroyer of the Bridge - not to mention anything else - is a very meaningful message.

JELENA LOVRIC