Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic told N1’s Amir Zukic she does not think Bosnian Croats are Bosniaks hostages since they can elect their political representatives.

“I don’t see how they how Bosnian Croats could be Bosniak hostages, since they can elect their political representatives, but they need to be more active and reaffirm their positions and interests. I don’t see how being a Croat is a political programme,” Pusic said. “Being a member of a nation cannot be a political programme.”

She told Zukic that the only chance Bosnia and Bosnian Croats have is Bosnia’s EU membership because the EU will break the shackles of ethnic belonging in Bosnia, “which has held the country in its iron grip.”

Pusic was one of the rare Croatians to congratulate Zeljko Komsic, from the centre-left Democratic Front) on his election for the Croat member of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency.

Komsic’s election was protested by the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) and parties gathered around the Croat National Assembly (HNS), an organisation made up of Bosnian Croat parties. They claim that Komsic was elected by Bosniak votes, making him the second Bosniak representative in the Presidency consisting of a Bosniak, Serb and Croat member.

On the other hand, Komsic’s election was completely legal and Constitutional because the Constitution stipulates that the Presidency consists of a Bosniak, Serb and Croat member. It never says they must be elected by members of their nationality.

The former Croatian Foreign Minister said that claims that most Bosnian Croats voted for Komsic’s opponent, Dragan Covic from the nationalist HDZ BiH, are false, because had that been the case, Covic would be the one sitting in the Presidency building.

“It’s no offence; it’s simple math. Some 140,000 voted, and the others could have also voted, but they obviously didn’t want to. Another fact is that had 80 percent of Croats voted for Covic, he would have definitely been elected,” Pusic noted.

Asked whether Croatia and Serbia would ever stop meddling into Bosnia’s internal affairs, Pusic said no.

“They’ll never stop, and I would be against that, just like Bosnia would never distance itself from its neighbours because we depend on each other. If we work for our benefit, everyone will profit.” Pusic added.