SARAJEVO, Feb 1 (Hina) - Croatia wants Bosnia-Herzegovina to be a stable and democratically arranged country, and is trying to help it to avoid conflict of any kind and solve open issues within legal bodies of authority, said Zdravko
Tomac, a Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Sabor and head of a multiparty parliamentary delegation that is paying a two-day visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina. According to a statement issued after Thursday's meeting between this delegation and Bosnia's three-man Presidency, the interlocutors have agreed that "any kind of change of the Dayton peace accords... cannot be carried out without the consent of all three constituent peoples in Bosnia." As regards regional cooperation, Croatia and Bosnia have a joint interest in joining European integration processes as soon as possible, the statement added. As the international community's High Representative in Sarajevo, Wolfgang
SARAJEVO, Feb 1 (Hina) - Croatia wants Bosnia-Herzegovina to be a
stable and democratically arranged country, and is trying to help
it to avoid conflict of any kind and solve open issues within legal
bodies of authority, said Zdravko Tomac, a Deputy Speaker of the
Croatian Sabor and head of a multiparty parliamentary delegation
that is paying a two-day visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
According to a statement issued after Thursday's meeting between
this delegation and Bosnia's three-man Presidency, the
interlocutors have agreed that "any kind of change of the Dayton
peace accords... cannot be carried out without the consent of all
three constituent peoples in Bosnia."
As regards regional cooperation, Croatia and Bosnia have a joint
interest in joining European integration processes as soon as
possible, the statement added.
As the international community's High Representative in Sarajevo,
Wolfgang Petritsch, was absent, his deputy Mathias Zohn received
the Croatian MPs and told them that the international community
supported such contacts as they could contribute to the improvement
of the ties between the two neighbouring countries.
At a news conference this afternoon, Zdravko Tomac said this
delegation would hold talks with everybody who would like to talk.
"We have come here as friends of Bosnia and we want to promote
relations between our countries," Tomac told the news conference.
He added that Zagreb had no intention of interfering into
multiparty conflicts in Bosnia and particularly not in the set-up
of executive authorities, but it only insisted on the respect for
the Dayton agreement's provisions.
Tomac expressed regret that upon its arrival in Sarajevo the
delegation of Croatia's Sabor met with "a hostile letter" and
protesters in front of the Presidency's building who were shouting
"Shame on You".
We have not deserved that and "I personally have nothing to be
ashamed of," asserted Tomac alluding to a letter forwarded to Sabor
Speaker Zlatko Tomcic by the leader of the Croat National Council in
Bosnia, Ivo Komsic, in relation to this visit.
"I personally hold Mr. Komsic in high esteem and quite frankly, I do
not know what made him do it," Tomac said reminding that in the last
ten years he had acted only as a friend of Bosnia.
Mate Granic, a member in the delegation, told reporters that one
should bear in mind that it would be much easier for Croatia to enter
European integration processes if it did not have the commitment to
help implement the Dayton accords. "We have that commitment and
therefore we really care for a stronger Bosnia that will be able,
together with us, to go into Europe."
The President of the Croat-Moslem entity - the Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ivo Andric Luzanski, said the talks at the
parliamentary level had not yet produced any concrete conclusions
but all participants in the talks agreed that it was necessary to
establish a joint inter-parliamentary delegation which would
tackle the ties between the two neighbours.
(hina) sb ms