Dolaskom izbjeglica iz Istočne Hercegovine u Mostar, etnička slika u ratnom Mostaru 1993. godine se de facto promijenila. Prema popisu iz 1991. godine, u Mostaru je živjelo 33,80 % Hrvata i 34,48 % Muslimana, tako da je razlika iznosila oko 0,68 % u korist Muslimana. Prema popisu koji je u martu 1993. godine obavio Odjel za socijalni rad HVO Mostar broj Muslimana se povećao, tako da je sada bilo oko 18,51 % više Muslimana.
Za Hrvate je novonastala situacija očito predstavljala problem, što je evidentno iz razgovora Petra Zelenike, dozapovjednika HVO Mostar sa novinarima Nedjeljne Dalmacije, gdje on, između ostalog navodi da bi ljudi iz vrha Republike BiH morali voditi računa o svom ponašanju i vratiti te ljude odakle su došli. Očito je da je rukovodstvo HVO-a postalo vrlo zabrinuto, jer na kraju razgovora, Zelenika zaključuje: "Mostar će biti hrvatski, to je središte Herceg-Bosne i tu nema dileme."
Pitanje izbjeglica iz Istočne Hercegovine i promijenjenog etničkog balansa u Mostaru, ponovo se vratilo u fokus pažnje javnosti, nakon što je Norbert Winterstein, voditelj odjela za gradsku upravu Uprave Evropske unije nad Mostarom, na seminaru o lokalnoj demokratiji u BiH i Evropi, održanom u Tuzli u novembru, 1994. godine izjavio da su prognani Bošnjaci uzrok sukoba u Mostaru. Winterstein je tada naveo da se ti ljudi nisu mogli uklopiti u gradski život, te da su Hrvati mogli izgubiti svoj identitet, i njihova religija i kultura su mogli doći u pitanje.
The influx of refugees from Eastern Herzegovina to Mostar changed de facto the ethnic structure in a 1993 war affected Mostar. According to the 1991 census, Croats made 33,80 % and Muslims 34,48 % of the population, which was ca 0,68 % difference. However, according to the census from March, 1993 made by the Social Welfare Department of the Croatian Defense Council, the number of Muslim population increased, so at that point a total difference grew to 18,51 % in favor of the Muslim population.
The new situation was obviously seen as a problem for Croats, which is evident from the interview of Petar Zelenika, deputy commander of the Croatian Defense Council, Mostar with the journalists of the Nedjeljna Dalmacija, where inter alia, he stated that the top leaders of the Republic of BiH, had to take care of their own behavior and send those people back to where they had come from It is obvious that the Croatian Defense Council was very concerned, as at the end of the interview, Zelenika concluded: "Mostar will belong to Croats; it is a seat of Herzeg-Bosnia and there is no dilemma about this."
The Eastern Herzegovina refugee issue, as well as the modified ethnic structure in Mostar, was once again the focus of the public attention, after Norbert Winterstein, a head of the City Administration Department of the EU Administration of Mostar, had stated at the seminar on local democracy in BiH and Europe, held in Tuzla in November, 1994, that the Bosniak refugees were the cause of the conflict in Mostar. On this occasion, Winterstein stated that those people had failed to adapt to the urban lifestyle, and that Croats could have lost their identity and their religion and culture could have come under the question.
Za Hrvate je novonastala situacija očito predstavljala problem, što je evidentno iz razgovora Petra Zelenike, dozapovjednika HVO Mostar sa novinarima Nedjeljne Dalmacije, gdje on, između ostalog navodi da bi ljudi iz vrha Republike BiH morali voditi računa o svom ponašanju i vratiti te ljude odakle su došli. Očito je da je rukovodstvo HVO-a postalo vrlo zabrinuto, jer na kraju razgovora, Zelenika zaključuje: "Mostar će biti hrvatski, to je središte Herceg-Bosne i tu nema dileme."
Pitanje izbjeglica iz Istočne Hercegovine i promijenjenog etničkog balansa u Mostaru, ponovo se vratilo u fokus pažnje javnosti, nakon što je Norbert Winterstein, voditelj odjela za gradsku upravu Uprave Evropske unije nad Mostarom, na seminaru o lokalnoj demokratiji u BiH i Evropi, održanom u Tuzli u novembru, 1994. godine izjavio da su prognani Bošnjaci uzrok sukoba u Mostaru. Winterstein je tada naveo da se ti ljudi nisu mogli uklopiti u gradski život, te da su Hrvati mogli izgubiti svoj identitet, i njihova religija i kultura su mogli doći u pitanje.
The influx of refugees from Eastern Herzegovina to Mostar changed de facto the ethnic structure in a 1993 war affected Mostar. According to the 1991 census, Croats made 33,80 % and Muslims 34,48 % of the population, which was ca 0,68 % difference. However, according to the census from March, 1993 made by the Social Welfare Department of the Croatian Defense Council, the number of Muslim population increased, so at that point a total difference grew to 18,51 % in favor of the Muslim population.
The new situation was obviously seen as a problem for Croats, which is evident from the interview of Petar Zelenika, deputy commander of the Croatian Defense Council, Mostar with the journalists of the Nedjeljna Dalmacija, where inter alia, he stated that the top leaders of the Republic of BiH, had to take care of their own behavior and send those people back to where they had come from It is obvious that the Croatian Defense Council was very concerned, as at the end of the interview, Zelenika concluded: "Mostar will belong to Croats; it is a seat of Herzeg-Bosnia and there is no dilemma about this."
The Eastern Herzegovina refugee issue, as well as the modified ethnic structure in Mostar, was once again the focus of the public attention, after Norbert Winterstein, a head of the City Administration Department of the EU Administration of Mostar, had stated at the seminar on local democracy in BiH and Europe, held in Tuzla in November, 1994, that the Bosniak refugees were the cause of the conflict in Mostar. On this occasion, Winterstein stated that those people had failed to adapt to the urban lifestyle, and that Croats could have lost their identity and their religion and culture could have come under the question.