FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS BOSNIAN CROATS AREN'T BURDEN FOR CROATIA

ZAGREB, April 14 (Hina) - Croats in Bosnia are not a mere obligation or a burden for Croatia, they have to be the bearers of partnership with Bosnia, Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said on Saturday. #L# Picula visited the southern Bosnian town of Mostar where he met with representatives of Bosnian Croat parties to urge them to reach a consensus about constitutional changes in Bosnia. Croatia counts on Bosnian Croats to take part in all serious political processes in Bosnia, in order to help themselves, but also to make it easier for Croatia to help them and Bosnia, Picula told the Croatian Television's Saturday evening newscast. Asked if the proposed constitutional changes were a good framework for ensuring the equality of Croats throughout Bosnia's territory, Picula said the agreement on the changes was expected to incorporate into the constitutions of Bosnia's two entities new provisions stressing the three peoples' equality and making the state more functional. The agreement is a compromise which rectified the deficiencies of another compromise - 1995's Dayton peace agreement, said the minister. Picula maintained the agreement was a good solution for Bosnian Croats, but added that it remained to be seen how what the agreement offered would be made use of. Even the best legal solutions will come to nothing if Croats continue moving out of Bosnia and refrain from returning to pre-war homes, he said. Commenting on the failure of the Bosnian Croatian Democratic Union to attend the Mostar talks, Picula said the party had eliminated the possibility of participating. Asked how much the Croatian government was responsible for the party's self-isolation, Picula dismissed suspicion of the Croatian government's involvement in Bosnia's internal affairs and accusations of having left Bosnian Croats to fend for themselves and waging an insufficiently proactive policy in Bosnia. (hina) ha