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Bosnian bishops advocate four cantons instead of two entities

SARAJEVO, Oct 29 (Hina) - Bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina havedrafted political and constitutional changes which they maintain arenecessary to establish equality in the country and eliminate what theysay are injustices stemming from the adoption of the 1995 Dayton peaceagreement.
SARAJEVO, Oct 29 (Hina) - Bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina have drafted political and constitutional changes which they maintain are necessary to establish equality in the country and eliminate what they say are injustices stemming from the adoption of the 1995 Dayton peace agreement.

The draft was adopted at the 35th session of the Bosnian Bishops' Conference and its essence is the establishment of four functional cantons instead of the existing two entities.

The document was presented to the press by the Sarajevo archbishop, Cardinal Bishop Vinko Puljic, in the capital on Saturday.

He said the draft was sent to the Holy See, which he added was expected to support the Bosnian bishops' efforts to make all peoples and individuals in Bosnia equal.

Under the draft, the Dayton agreement unjustly divided the country into two entities which legalised the right of the stronger instead of the law of justice, resulting in a state which is neither functional nor sustainable.

The bishops maintain that Bosnia and Herzegovina is in a deeper political and social crisis today than before the agreement was signed.

They say that Croats are the biggest victims of the 1990s war because 67 per cent were expelled yet only 13 per cent have returned to prewar homes. They also claim that Croats should be guaranteed equal rights and duties as the other two peoples in the country -- Muslims and Serbs.

The bishops suggest organising Bosnia as an integral, decentralised state which, instead of the existing Serb entity and Croat-Muslim federation, would have four cantons or regions, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, and Tuzla, in which each people would have a minimum 30 per cent share in the legislative and executive authority.

The bishops call on the public as well as the international community to take the step necessary to change the Constitution as soon as possible.

Commenting on the fact that the draft significantly differed from suggestions by the international community, which does not wish to question the survival of the Serb entity, Cardinal Puljic said Bosnia's future should be decided in Bosnia and not in Washington or Brussels.

Illustrating the need for deep political change, Puljic said there were 830,000 Catholics in Bosnia before the war and only 466,000 now, and that only 12,000 Catholics remained in the Serb entity out of the 222,000 before the war.

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