Russia's aggression on Ukraine changed the whole world, and Europe in particular, in just a few days. The entire West united in solidarity and assistance to Ukraine and in condemning the Russian invasion. However, in the political mud called Bosnia and Herzegovina, even this unfortunate aggression could not pass without significant abuses and spreading misinformation.
A significant part of the (pro) Bosniak political and media scene is using this opportunity to try to portray Croatian politics in BiH as pro-Russian players, thus seeking the West's support in achieving its own hegemonic goals in BiH. We will give just a few examples.
After the beginning of the Russian invasion, a prominent SDP BiH member Damir Mašić posted a picture on Twitter of the President of the Croat National Assembly (Hrvatski narodni sabor - HNS), Dragan Čović, in the company of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The mindless wave of hatred was joined by Azra Zornić, who also posted the same picture on her own Twitter profile. We remind you that Zornić often advocates aggressive pro-Bosniak proclamations on Twitter, so she recently wrote that the Republic of Croatia was an aggressor in BiH, that the BiH citizens will adopt a new Constitution, and whoever does not like it, Zornić declared at a time – should leave BiH.
Thus, the aforementioned "civic" duo or, more precisely, pro-Bosniak duo uses - no less than - a picture from the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals as the crowning proof of Čović's alignment for Russia and alleged support for Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
This futile attempt of discreditation cannot be interpreted otherwise than as an open incitement to hatred towards the Croatian leadership in BiH. Let's ask ourselves the following, very simple question - what does the final of the 2018 World Cup have to do with Russia's aggression against Ukraine in 2022?! However, it is obvious that the pro-Bosniak political bloc is not interested in rational and honest dialogue, but only in defamation and achieving its own hegemonic goals.
As expected, Jasmin Mujanović, one of the most famous advocates of Bosniak hegemony, joined this narrative. In a series of tweets, Mujanović devoted himself to proving that Čović belongs to the „Russian orbit“.
What is the real truth?
To discover the truth about the view of Croatian politics in BiH towards Russian aggression, it is enough to look at the statement of the Croat National Assembly (HNS) which „fully supports the position of the European Union and joins condemning Russia's aggression and invasion of Ukraine“. The Croat National Assembly also said that „these actions are a gross violation of the Ukraine state sovereignty and the norms of international law and democracy“.
Furthermore, HNS President Čović met with Croatian Prime Minister Plenković on Tuesday, when they had a joint statement which confirmed that they „strongly condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine“ and provide „full support to the Ukrainian people“.
Thus, only a brief overview of the official positions of Croatian politics in BiH unequivocally demystifies the manipulative narrative of BiH Croats as „Russian players“. These spins are especially ridiculous when you consider the fact that the Republic of Croatia and its Prime Minister Plenković have clearly established themselves as one of the actors with the strongest support and sensitivity towards Ukraine and the Ukrainian people throughout Europe and the world.
What is the goal of unconvincing deceptions and lies?
Pro-Bosniak agitators placed unconvincing spins with the sole aim of discrediting the Croatian political leadership in BiH, that is, to portray Bosniaks as the only unquestioned pro-Western bloc in BiH. But the facts suggest otherwise.
In this way, the pro-Bosniak political bloc wants to gain the support of the West in its ultimate political goal in Bosnia and Herzegovina - achieving Bosniak hegemony and domination first on the territory of FBiH, and then throughout entire BiH.
The pattern of behavior of Bosniak political actors and subjects to whom the facts are completely irrelevant is already known. The only thing that matters is the aggressive Bosniak narrative that destroys BiH, and if the facts do not correspond to that narrative, then the worse to the facts. This is really just an indication that Bosniak politics in BiH not only does not accept the basic principles of the Dayton Peace Agreement, but directly undermines it.
The news in the whole situation is the instrumentalization of the Ukrainian tragedy, as well as the suffering and pain of the Ukrainian people in order to achieve their own, particular, destructive political goals in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is something really morally odious and absolutely unacceptable in every way.
If we draw a parallel between Ukraine and BiH at all, then we can only condemn the root of the problem in both situations – primitive, hegemonic desires that want to achieve complete domination. On the one hand, these are Putin's aggressive pretensions over Ukraine, and on the other hand, the destructive, hegemonic goals of the pro-Bosniak bloc to rule the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite BiH's multinational composition and the fact that BiH is the most divided European society.
To conclude, we knew that BiH in many ways represents political mud, but Bosniak political agitators always surprise us again and again. It is a huge moral decadence even for BiH.
Dnevnik.ba