OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL CONDEMNS DECISION BY CROAT NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

VIENNA, March 8 (Hina) - The one-sided decision of the Croat National Assembly in Mostar is in contravention of the Dayton agreement and the replacement of Ante Jelavic was the only solution that could be expected, the head of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Robert Barry, told Thursday's session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. The OSCE Council voiced support for the Dayton peace agreement, OSCE, the establishment of state institutions and the equality of all three peoples in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as for the decision of the international community's High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch. Croatia's Ambassador with the OSCE Mario Nobilo said Croatia condemned the one-sided move by the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), because it was detrimental to the interests of the Bosnian Croat people. He said "the decision could have a negative effect on the international position of Croatia," which supported political pluralism on the B-H political scene. "The HDZ BiH does not represent the interests of the entire Croat people in Bosnia-Herzegovina," Nobilo said, adding his advice to B-H Croats was to return to state institutions and resolve the new problems through dialogue. The Croatian government will hold talks and cooperate with international representatives and B-H officials with the aim of resolving these problems, Nobilo said. He added, however, that "although the self-declared Croat institutions are the main problem now - the existence of Republika Srpska, 'a state within a state', which is based on ethnic cleansing and still harbours war criminals," would be the main problem in the long run. "Asymmetric solutions cannot help stabilise Bosnia-Herzegovina and therefore we believe that the quality of being constituent of all three peoples must be established on the entire territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in line with decisions of the B-H Constitutional Court," Nobilo said. "Neighbouring countries must help the international community see that the Dayton agreement is further built within Bosnia- Herzegovina and not through ultimatums because the biggest threat to the country's stability currently comes from the forces within," Nobilo said. (hina) rml