ZAGREB, March 7 (Hina) - The leader of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Drazen Budisa, has suggested that Bosnia-Herzegovina be organised as a federal state composed of 12 to 14 cantons which would not have the right to
establish special relations with neighbouring countries. In an interview with the latest issue of the 'Globus' weekly, Budisa said the new plan for Bosnia-Herzegovina took as a starting point the country's indivisibility and territorial integrity, as well as that its main elements were the dismantling of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska and the establishment of the State of Bosnia-Herzegovina and a two-chamber parliament. According to Budisa's proposal, the House of Peoples would guarantee national equality in Bosnia-Herzegovina, while the cantons would not have the right to establish special relations with neighbouring countries. Budisa holds this very importa
ZAGREB, March 7 (Hina) - The leader of the Croatian Social Liberal
Party (HSLS), Drazen Budisa, has suggested that Bosnia-Herzegovina
be organised as a federal state composed of 12 to 14 cantons which
would not have the right to establish special relations with
neighbouring countries.
In an interview with the latest issue of the 'Globus' weekly, Budisa
said the new plan for Bosnia-Herzegovina took as a starting point
the country's indivisibility and territorial integrity, as well as
that its main elements were the dismantling of the Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska and the establishment of
the State of Bosnia-Herzegovina and a two-chamber parliament.
According to Budisa's proposal, the House of Peoples would
guarantee national equality in Bosnia-Herzegovina, while the
cantons would not have the right to establish special relations
with neighbouring countries.
Budisa holds this very important "not only because of the legacy of
Croatia's policy toward Bosnia-Herzegovina, left by the late
President Tudjman, but also because of the current Republika
Srpska."
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska on Monday
signed, with the consent of the international community, an
agreement on special relations, whose introduction defines the
obligation of both sides to fully abide by the Dayton Agreement and
help in its implementation.
Budisa, however, believes that the current state organisation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina is not a lasting solution and that the Dayton
peace accords were a good solution at the time they were created.
"However, the fact itself that as many as 13 constitutions have been
adopted in Bosnia-Herzegovina so far speaks about the limited life
of all previous solutions," Budisa said, adding he did not think
Bosnia should refuse the Dayton agreement but find concrete answers
to problems.
The HSLS leader believes the international community "by electoral
and post-electoral engineering has given the HDZ a motive it had
been waiting for to react the way it did at the Mostar meeting."
The Croat National Assembly of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is
dominated by the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina
(HDZ BiH), last Saturday in Mostar declared temporary Croat self-
government, refusing to recognise the authority of Bosnia-
Herzegovina and the international community.
Prime Minister Ivica Racan said in Zagreb today the Croatian
government would insist in talks with the international community
on the stability of Bosnia-Herzegovina as the state quo in the sense
of division of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the significant level of
independence of the Bosnian Serb entity did not contribute to the
stability.
During a break in today's parliamentary session, Racan told
reporters that Budisa had only indicated some of the possibilities
for the resolution of the problem in Bosnia-Herzegovina and added
that those initiatives could not be publicly discussed before they
were discussed with "desirable partners in the international
community." He reiterated the Croatian government would insist on
some new solutions which needed to be secured if Bosnia-Herzegovina
was to be a stable state.
(hina) sb rml