SARAJEVO: SPECIAL PROTOCOL WILL AMEND AGREEMENT ON PLOCE PORT

SARAJEVO, March 15 (Hina) - An agreement on the status of the southern Croatian port of Ploce between Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina will be amended after all, namely by adopting a special protocol which will eliminate the existing regulation under which a foreigner should be the head of the port's management committee who will also be an arbiter in a case of a dispute, Sarajevo's daily Oslobodjenje reported on Friday.#L# According to the daily, the two countries agreed to adopt the special protocol which would become effective on the day of its signing. The protocol will stipulate that amendments to Article 9 would become effective a month after the ratification of the Ploce port agreement in the Croatian parliament. The Article defines the existence of a seven-member management board, led by a foreigner with the authorities of an arbiter in a case of a dispute. Sarajevo's daily said a discussion on the protocol, proposed by Croatia, led to serious conflicts within the ruling Bosnian coalition. Zlatko Lagumdzija's Social Democrats (SDP) and the Party for Bosnia-Herzegovina, whose informal leader is Haris Silajdzic, allegedly had completely opposite standpoints on the proposal presented by Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan during a recent meeting with Lagumdzija. In line with Racan's proposal, the seventh member of the management board would not be appointed and his arbiter role would be ad hoc replaced by international arbitration. The Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of Minister on Monday informally adjusted standpoints on this proposal. They also found a compromise on Thursday; the protocol will be adopted, but Bosnia's Presidency will voice its opinion subsequently. Commenting on this problem, Lagumdzija said that nobody's intention was to change the agreement on the port of Ploce before its ratification in the Croatian parliament. (hina) it sb