BOSNIAN CROAT ASSOCIATION URGES STATE REORGANISATION

SARAJEVO, Feb 6 (Hina) - The Assembly of the Croat People's Council (HNV) of Bosnia-Herzegovina will hold a session this spring to seek changes to the organisation of the country, senior members of the association said in Sarajevo on Friday.#L# Speaking at a press conference organised on the occasion of the HNV's 10th anniversary, the association's president, Father Luka Markesic, said the HNV was preparing activities aimed at "transforming Bosnia-Herzegovina from a Dayton-styled into a European-styled one". Markesic said he expected the upcoming session of the association to prompt the internal reorganisation of the country, which he said should be based on the principles of regionalism and federalism. "We want this country to be organised in such a way so as to eliminate the possibility of new conflicts," Markesic said, adding that this proposal was supported by numerous other civil institutions and organisations in the country. The Croat People's Council was founded in 1994 in Sarajevo, which at the time was besieged and exposed to constant attacks by Serb forces. The association gathered some 400 prominent representatives of the Bosnian Croat people. For the first time since 1992, Bosnian Croat officials elected in the 1990 elections, representatives of almost all Croat parties, the Croatian Defence Council, the Catholic Church, the "Napredak" cultural society, and other Croat associations were gathered in one association. The founding session confirmed the commitment of the Croat people to the preservation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its organisation in line with democratic principles. (Hina) rml