European Forum

Croatia apologies to Bosnia for war crimes

On 13 April the President of Croatia, Ivo Josipovic, delivered an unprecedented apology in Sarajevo for Zagreb’s devastating policies in the 1990s.

Sincere apologies
The social democrat apologised for Croatia's wartime policies, which he said have contributed to Bosnia's current ethnic fragmentation and political deadlock. “(The creators of) the 1990s policies…. based on the idea that division is the solution for Bosnia-Herzegovina, have sown an evil seed here, but also in their own countries,” Josipovic said in his address to Bosnian lawmakers on 13 April. He said that the misguided nations and individuals had “reaped the death and mutilation of hundreds of thousands and the expulsion of millions of people, destroyed economies and families.” “I am deeply sorry that Croatia has contributed to that with its policies in the 1990s. .. that the then Croatian policy has contributed to the suffering of people and divisions which still burden us today,” he added.

Josipovic urged Bosnian and regional leaders, nevertheless, to put the past behind and work towards a shared, prosperous future in the EU. “A new time has come, a time which calls for a new policy… all of us – Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Europeans alike – must find strength to overcome suspicions and fears,” Josipovic said, adding that “chauvinist and extremist policies” must never again be allowed to triumph.

Historic moment
Other Croatian leaders have apologised to Bosnia for Zagreb's role in the Bosnian war, but Josipovic's speech was truly unprecedented for a number of reasons, including the extent of responsibility he attributed to wartime Croatia. Relations between Zagreb and Sarajevo have been gradually improving since the death in 1999 of independent Croatia's first President, Franjo Tudjman. Despite the fact that there are still open issues between Sarajevo and Zagreb, Croatia is now widely perceived in Bosnia as a friendly country.

EU praises message of reconciliation
In Brussels, the EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele has welcomed the sincere apologies sent by Josipovic, and stated that the move marks a step towards building better relations across the region. “The Western Balkans have had a troubled, and painful past.  It is important that this past does not act as a break on progress towards a common future as members of the EU,” Fuele said in his written statement. Emphasizing the fact that membership in the EU requires the fulfilment of certain conditions, including regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations, Fuele stated that “the words of President Josipovic are important not just for relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina but for the region as a whole''.

President honors victims
As former Yugoslavia started falling apart in the 1990s, the then Serbian and Croatian leaders supported  the secessionist aspirations of Bosnia’s Serb and Croat peoples with the idea to carve up their neighbors’ territory and share it between them. As a result, the multiethnic Bosnia found itself engulfed in one of the most brutal conflicts in Europe since World War II, in which 100,000 people were killed and some 2 million forced out of their homes. More than 100 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) civilians – mostly women, children and old men - were brutally killed in the central Bosnian village of Ahmici on 16 April, 1993 by Zagreb-backed Bosnian Croat forces, being the worst war crime committed by the Croats. On 15 April, Josipovic travelled to Bosnia for a two-day trip, and visited Ahmici to pay a tribute to the 116 Muslims massacred there.

Since becoming President two months ago, Josipovic has sought to mend relations with all Croatia's Balkan neighbors as part of his campaign to fully turn the page on Croatia's wartime legacy. His visit to Bosnia can be seen as a step forward for regional peacemaking. He is the first President since the Balkan wars to visit a neighboring state and formally apologize for his country's past policies.

Sources: Balkan Insight; Euractiv; Volkskrant (Dutch); RFE/RL