SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, May 23 (Hina) - The Bosnian Serb authorities on Thursday refused a proposal by the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina on the establishment of a single state body in charge of defence issues and the organisation of
armed forces.
SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, May 23 (Hina) - The Bosnian Serb authorities
on Thursday refused a proposal by the Presidency of Bosnia-
Herzegovina on the establishment of a single state body in charge of
defence issues and the organisation of armed forces. #L#
Senior Bosnian Serb officials met in Banja Luka today to consider a
proposal by the Bosnian Presidency on the establishment of a
permanent body which would represent the supreme civilian
commander of the entities' armed forces, and on the establishment
of a single department of defence and a joint general staff.
"We have established that this is the crudest attempt to change the
Constitution which enables the entities to regulate defence and
military issues on their own," Republika Srpska President Mirko
Sarovic told reporters in Banja Luka.
He announced that the Serb member of the BH Presidency, Zivko
Radisic, would request the withdrawal of the previously adopted
proposal. In case Radisic is outvoted, he will resort to the
regulation on the protection of vital national interests and block
changes in the sector of defence and armed forces, Sarovic said.
The Bosnian Serb authorities are willing to talk about these issues
but they want to draw up possible solutions on their own, he said.
The integration of the country's defence structures, which so far
have functioned as separate units, is the basic precondition for
Bosnia's admission to NATO's Partnership for Peace programme.
This message was conveyed to Bosnian officials by NATO Secretary-
General George Robertson during a visit to Sarajevo in April this
year.
(hina) rml