MINISTER: BOSNIAN AUTHORITIES TO TAKE STAND ON U.S. BLACK LIST

SARAJEVO, June 2 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina's foreign ministry has received an official list of people whom the Bush Administration labels as liable for obstructing the peace processes, and the Council of Ministers will decide whether it will take some measures against those persons within Bosnia- Herzegovina, Bosnian Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic said in Sarajevo on Monday. #L# Bosnian citizens make up almost two thirds of entries in the so- called black list with over 150 names, which was compiled by the U.S. Administration. Washington said that those were persons who were hindering the implementation of the Dayton peace accords for Bosnia, the Ohrid agreement for Macedonia, or other peace processes in south-eastern Europe or who were wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) or those who were harbouring ICTY indictees. Ivanic said this was a serious issue on which Sarajevo should take a clear stand and decide whether it would launch investigations against its citizens from the list. Commenting on discussions in Bosnia on whether Sarajevo should ratify a bilateral agreement with the United states on non- extradition of U.S. nationals to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ivanic said his ministry maintained that the treaty should be sent into parliamentary procedure as soon as possible. According to Ivanic, it is Bosnia's fundamental interest to have U.S. troops remain in the country for some time longer. He added that the Bosnian authorities were not exposed to pressure form the European Union. Asked about increasingly frequent proposals for amending Bosnia's Constitution, i.e. the Dayton peace accords, and about organising a new international conference on Bosnia, he said that "it is not realistic to expect any international conference, given that for the international community, the issue of Bosnia has been solved from the strategic point of view". (hina) ms sb