BOSNIA: REACTIONS TO CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

SARAJEVO, April 20 (Hina) - The passing of amendments to the constitutions of Bosnia's two entities has met with the undivided support of the parties making up the ruling Alliance for Changes coalition, while the opposition, with the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) at the helm, has shown the utmost restraint, with the explanation that such constitutional amendments do not ensure the real equality of the Croat people throughout the country. #L# The amendments represent a big victory for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state, Social Democratic Party (SDP) president Zlatko Lagumdzija said upon the proclamation of the amendments. "This is the day when democracy and European values win in this country," Lagumdzija told reporters at the SDP headquarters, where the mood resembled one of electoral victory. Alongside the New Croatian Initiative and its president Kresimir Zubak and the Party for BH, the SDP is viewed as the most responsible for the reaching of an agreement which enabled the imposition of appropriate constitutional solutions. The Dnevni Avaz daily, known for its closeness to Lagumdzija, reports on Saturday that the decision of the international community's High Representative in Bosnia, Wolfgang Petritsch, on the proclamation of constitutional amendments was preceded by a dramatic night in which Lagumdzija threatened to resign to the office of foreign minister and that his party would not participate in the October elections. Once again the biggest problem were the Serb side's attempts to prevent the making of significant changes to amendments the Serb entity's parliament adopted on April 4. The Serb side did not provide a complete answer to Petritsch's insistence that Republika Srpska's Constitution must be fully compliant with the March 27 agreement on constitutional amendments. This urged the High Representative to change provisions which were unacceptable for Croats and Bosniaks. Some compromise solutions could not be averted, which is best seen in the way in which official languages are defined in Republika Srpska. The final text of the constitutional amendments cites "the language of the Serb people, the language of the Bosniak people and the language of the Croat people" as official languages, which settled a Serb-Bosniak conflict as to whether a language should be called "Bosnian" or "Bosniak" (Bosnian Muslim). The most important thing, however, is the fact that the constitutional amendments have finally abolished Republika Srpska as the entity in which Serbs hold all the power. In the future, this entity will have a president and two vice presidents from different peoples, half the ministerial seats in the government will be reserved for Bosniaks and Croats (5+3), the representatives of one people will be able to head a maximum two of the six key bodies of the executive, legislative and judicial authorities, and public institutions will be filled in proportion with the 1991 census, which directly annuls the results of ethnic cleansing. Perhaps the greatest achievement of the constitutional amendments is the introduction of the Council of Peoples which in Republika Srpska will represent a legislative body whose jurisdiction is the protection of vital national interests of all the three peoples. This body will be able to veto the passing of any law or provision if the majority of the representatives of one of the three peoples deems them contrary to the vital interest of their people. In line with the principles of full symmetry, the Constitution of the Federation, the Croat-Muslim entity, will guarantee the same position to Serbs as the entity's third constituent people. The proclamation of constitutional amendments in Bosnia has made it possible for the state's entire political make-up to be completely changed after October. Election Commission president Lidija Korac has said the ballot will be held as planned, on October 5, for all levels of the state, entity and cantonal authorities, and the municipality of Zepce. For the first time after 1995's Dayton peace agreement, elections in Bosnia will be held under the Permanent Election Law, which was adopted last summer. Some voids in the law have been filled with decisions Petritsch has passed "in package" with the constitutional amendments. One significant aspect is the election of the president and vice president of Republika Srpska, from the ranks of different peoples, by direct vote. Similarly to the election of members to the Bosnian Presidency, said provision practically prevents one people from influencing the election of a candidate from another people. In the future, the two entities' parliaments will have to have at least four representatives from each people. This will have special significance for Croats in Republika Srpska who used to have only one MP. Starting today, the political parties which wish to run in the October ballot may start submitting lists of candidates to the Election Commission. Said lists will not be verified for parties whose officials have been replaced for breaching the Dayton agreement, in line with Petritsch's decision. One of these is the HDZ, which has not acknowledged the replacement of Ante Jelavic as party president or removed from the party presidency the officials who were replaced together with him. (hina) ha sb