According to a source of Dnevni Avaz, the leader of the HDZ, Ante Jelavic, will be willing to dismiss his party if the International Community meets several requests, which are soon to be put forth by the HDZ. The same source said that Jelavic will ask the High Representative to provide his guarantees that BiH will get a new “peoples constitution”, whose draft will be prepared by representatives of all three peoples in BiH. “This way, we will give a chance to the IC to show that it has no bad intentions towards Croats in BiH, while we will show that we are willing to sacrifice so much for the interest of the Croat people,” said the source.
Suggesting the same idea, Zagreb’s Vecernji List published today an article under the title “BiH Croats stay without their central party” in which its author reveals the most important requirement of the HDZ BiH: (Full translation provided by OHR Mostar)
If the International Community accepts HDZ proposals, which are presently being discussed in a deep secrecy by a group of lawyers and other experts, the leaders of the HDZ BiH are ready to close down their party. The International Community, which is basically a protector with a broad mandate, is drastically punishing the HDZ BiH, although the party received nearly a plebiscite-like support of the Croat people at the past elections As the punishing of the HDZ is basically the systematic punishing of the Croat people, the self-dismissal is a logical move, the members of the Party hold. A highly positioned leader of the Party and one of the authors of the document, informed us yesterday about that sensational turnabout at the BiH political scene. The document includes the principles of the political organization of BiH and institutions which would guarantee the national equality of all three peoples in BiH. According to our source, the document is the attempt of the HDZ to seriously explain its views, in the tense relations with the international representatives and point out to their justifiable requirements which lead to the equal position of all the peoples in BiH.
The document, which the HDZ is making in a deep secrecy, includes five principles and ‘Vecernjak’ is the first to present them to the public:
The first principle is the standardization of human rights in BiH, the individual and collective human rights, and the most important thing is to find a balance between them.
The second principle is the equal position of the peoples in the electoral process, that is to say a possibility for any people to elect its representatives to the Houses of Peoples and not for the Houses of Peoples to be turned into other Houses of Representatives as a consequence of ‘ everybody electing everybody’, as it happened by the change of the election rules and regulations before the last general elections.
The third principle is the composition and the process of decision-making in the governmental institutions. It is required that the composition of the highest institution to be based on the national parity, with rotation at the leading position, and consensus when important national issues are being decided upon. In addition, there is a proposal that the issues related to the most important national interests or regional interests, which require a consensus, should be precisely defined.
The fourth principle is the administrative and territorial organization, which would be based on the European standards. It is also acceptable to BiH without Dayton entities, with more multiethnic cantons, but also with a functional structure which will guarantee the equal position of all the peoples and citizens. The document also does not exclude the possibility of having BiH with more than two entities.
The fifth principle uses the opening of the process of changing of the Constitution (due the decision of the BiH Constitutional Court on the constituent status of all three peoples in entire BiH) for a comprehensive constitutional reform.
The new Constitution, so called people’s constitution, would be verified in the BiH Parliament. In particular, it is necessary to incorporate in the Constitution the modern democratic experiences of the multinational states protecting the national interest, human rights and relations between the regions, or administrative units and the central authority. Also, there is a proposal that the members of the Presidency should be elected in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and not directly at the elections, as it has been the case so far, and its mandates to be reduced and taken over by the central government. In the joint military system any people would keep its military components. Generally, a more simple and efficient structure of the state is foreseen.
If one receives the assurances that a lasting equality of the Croat people and human rights of all the citizens will be based on those principles, our source claims that a consensus has been almost reached about it at the top level of the HDZ BiH, the HDZ would, then, decide to close down the Party. In that case, most Croats would stay without their political representatives. Therefore one proposes for the new elections to be held at which the present and new parties would equally participate. It is difficult for one to foresee if some of the present members of the HDZ would then found some new parties, since some highly positioned officials of the HDZ founded their parties after they left the Party. For instance, Zubak (NHI), Kljujic (Republicans), Brkic (HNZ).
Zoran Tomic, the Spokesman of the HDZ BiH, got surprised when we asked him about the document and closing down of the Party. “Unfortunately, I can not tell you anything at the moment,” Tomic said, and added that he cannot deny the existence of such a document. “The Central Board of the HDZ BiH proposed to the Presidency of the Croat People’s Assembly to establish the working bodies in charge of the elaboration of the strategy and decisions which the Assembly will make. As much as I know, such an agreement was reached at the Croat People’s Assembly. It might mean indirectly that such a document is being prepared!” Tomic told Vecenje List.
Office of the High Representative