MATIC TO BE AT HELM OF BOSNIA MINISTERIAL COUNCIL, JELAVIC DISSATISFIED

SARAJEVO, Feb 13 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina's three-man Presidency on Tuesday appointed Bozidar Matic as a new premier- designate of Bosnia's government - the Council of Ministers. Matic, proposed for this post by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), got the mandate for the selection of the ministerial council's composition, after two of three members of the Presidency - Serb Zivko Radisic and Moslem (Bosniak) Halid Genjac - voted for the SDP candidate. The Presidency's Croat member, Ante Jelavic, protested against the decision and left the Presidency's session. Radisic's aide Zeljko Samardziija said Jelavic also announced that he would ask that the issue be treated in line with constitutional provisions on the protection of vital national interests, which actually means that Jelavic puts his veto on the decision. Jelavic, the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia- Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), told reporters that for the first time the Presidency had made such an important decision by outvoting. In addition, the Dayton peace accords were drastically violated to the detriment of the Croat people, he maintained. Under the country's constitution and the Presidency's rule book, this collective body can decide on the chairman of the Council of Ministers by a majority of vote. For Jelavic, it is inadmissible that the elected Bosnian Croat (Matic) is supported by Moslem Genjac and Serb Radisic, but does not enjoy the support form the Croat member. Jelavic seems to stick by the candidate of his party (HDZ BiH), Martin Raguz, who failed to gain the vote of confidence in the country's parliament a few days ago. After that, the Presidency had to choose new premier- designate. Prior to the Presidency's session when he offered the official proposal about Matic to the Presidency's chairman Radisic, the SDP leader, Zlatko Lagumdzija, told reporters that the country could no longer wait for the set-up of new executive authorities and added that the Presidency's members were aware of that. In case of the further prolongation in the set-up of the council, Bosnia can lose at least 150 million US dollars in coming weeks as it would be denied foreign financial assistance, Lagumdzija explained. Prior to the session, the international community's High Representative to Bosnia, Wolfgang Petritsch, held talks with Genjac and Radisic asking them to act responsibly and in the interest of the country. Bozidar Matic can count on the support of at least 22 of 42 MPs in Bosnia's House of Representatives, who should confirm his appointment. Matic (63) is one of the most eminent Bosnian business people and scientists. He is a professor at the School of Electrical Engineering in Sarajevo and the incumbent head of the Bosnian Academy of Arts and Sciences. Before the war, he was at the helm of the Sarajevo-based famous concern "Energoinvest". (hina) ms