MOSTAR: EUROPEAN OFFICIALS AGAIN CALL FOR COMPROMISE

MOSTAR, Jan 20(Hina) - Ambassadors of the Peace Implementation Council's (PIC) Steering Board on Tuesday called on political leaders in Mostar to reach a compromise so that the city of Mostar could be finally unified.#L# Ambassadors from countries that are members of the PIC Steering Board issued a statement saying the proposal of the chairman of the commission for the reorganisation of Mostar, Norbert Winterstein, on the reorganisation of the city was a good basis for the city's new statute. However, the (Muslim) Party of Democratic Action (SDA) dismissed Winterstein's proposal because it envisages the dissolution of three city districts where Muslims are in the majority. The Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) also dismissed the proposal claiming that the proposed election model for Mostar would put Croats in a disadvantaged position in relation to the smaller Muslim community. Britain's Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yan Cliff, Dutch Ambassador Rob Bosscher, who also represented Ireland as the EU chair, and the deputy head of the European Commission Delegation to the country, Remzo Davidi, visited Mostar today in order to once again try to mediate in reaching agreement on the unification of the city. Although invited, SDA officials boycotted the meeting with European diplomats, over which the European delegation expressed regret. Bosscher said that Mostar's remaining disunited could negatively affect the organisation of an international conference on investments, to be held in late February in Mostar, as well as the opening of the city's rebuilt mediaeval bridge in July this year. (Hina) rml sb