Petak, 11. veljače 2022.
Mr Joe Biden, President of the USA
Mr Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic;
The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Mr Olaf Scholz, federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
His Holiness Pope Francis
Mr António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Dear world leaders,
we appeal to you, leading persons of the democratic world, who, through your decisions and actions, can influence the fate of Europe and humanity as a whole.
At this moment, which is crucial for peace in Eastern Europe, we address to you an appeal for the equal rights of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We believe that, with your authority and positions, you can use your influence to help one nation in Bosnia and Herzegovina preserve its constitutionality and equality, to prevent it from being driven to the edge of extinction in a country where it has been living for over a millennium.
We insist that Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina be free to elect their own representatives in the House of Peoples and a member of the Presidency, and that no important decision is allowed to be reached without the consensus of all three equal, constitutive nations. This is their right according to the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and failure to implement it would put the existence of today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina in question.
As the oldest Croatian cultural institution founded on this day 180 years ago, we bring together Croats in Croatia and abroad, promote Croatian identity and culture, and are committed to peace, tolerance, and cooperation between nations.
We invite you to, through your authority, decisions, and actions, help Bosnia and Herzegovina become a country of equal nations and citizens, and to help open and secure the way for the country to become a member of European and Euro-Atlantic integrations. Only in this way can the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Southeast Europe be guaranteed.
Miro Gavran, president
Matica hrvatska (Matrix Croatica),
founded on 10 February 1842
Appeal to world leaders regarding the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina