Sarajevo, September 19, 2000 (IKA/KTA) — The archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić, received a delegation from the Croatian Parliament at his residence on September 18, 2000. The delegation was led by the vice president of the Croatian Parliament, Dr. Zdravko Tomac, who was accompanied by Dr. Ivo Škrabalo, Josip Torbar, Ivana Sučesta Koštanec, Savica Banić, Vesna Škare Ožbolt and a representative from the embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Dr. Tomac first reported to Cardinal Puljić on the meetings he had already held in Sarajevo, at which the main topic was the problem of returnees. He pointed out that the parliaments of the two countries must not be deaf to the destinies of the people afflicted by the war. Bosnia-Herzegovina must be a country of three constituent ethnic nations, and in this country there cannot be and must not be a dominant ethnic nation. It was also emphasized that although much has been declared about solving the problem of returnees, there has been a great problem with implementation. Vesna Škare Ožbolt noted that “unfortunately, Croats from Bosnia-Herzegovina are becoming second-class citizens … While an increasingly large number of Serbs are returning to Croatia, no one is concerned about the refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina,” said Škare Ožbolt. Prof. Ivo Škrabalo noted that there is fear among the Croatian refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina that they will be forcibly returned before their legal and physical safety has been assured. The others agreed that people need considerable encouragement to return.
In an address to the guests, Cardinal Puljić presented the Sarajevo Archdiocese as it existed before and after the recent war. He also pointed out how politics becomes divided into two levels. On one level, there is the struggle for the general good which he has always supported, and on the other there is the struggle for power which he does not support. “Return is difficult and slow, with much intrigue, so that among returnees there is a climate of depression,” said Cardinal Puljić. It was mentioned that in 1999, approximately 80,000 Croats left Bosnia-Herzegovina to go to a third country, from which they do not intend to return. “Someone must be held responsible for this situation, if not before people than certainly before God. I am not asking you to build churches. You build the schools and hospitals, repair the houses, and when people have acceptable living conditions, they will build places of worship for themselves,” emphasized Cardinal Puljić.