BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA CROATS LIVING IN CROATIA FORM ALLIANCE

ZAGREB, March 31 (Hina) - An alliance of associations gathering Croats from Bosnia-Herzegovina living in Croatia, established in Zagreb on Saturday, has called on the international community to enable Bosnian Croats to return to their homes and requested the Croatian government to protect the sovereignty of the Bosnian Croat people in line with the Croatian Constitution and the Dayton agreement. The Alliance of Associations of Bosnia-Herzegovina Croats Living in Croatia is an umbrella, non-political and non-governmental organisation gathering 35 associations with more than 400,000 BH Croats living in Croatia and more than 100,000 Croats expelled from Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war. Luka Gavranovic was elected the Alliance's president. There were no representatives of the Croatian state authority at today's establishment ceremony and the Office of Croatian President Stjepan Mesic sent a letter of support. Attending the event were Croatian MPs from the formerly ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, representatives of political parties and, on behalf of the Croat National Congress (HNS) and the Croat Defence Council (HVO) from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ante Jelavic and General Zlatan Jelic respectively. The Alliance will help the BH Croat people protect and promote their national, economic, social, cultural and democratic interests, the head of the Alliance's Executive Committee, Stipe Mihalj, said. Although they are a constituent people in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croats are being systematically prevented from participating on an equal basis in any form of life in the country and are being deprived of their right to be a constituent nation as well as to survive, Mihalj said. Today's constituent convention adopted a declaration which calls on the U.N. High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina and other international institutions to, in line with Annex 7 of the Dayton agreement, secure the return of Croats to the Bosnian Serb entity and create conditions for their safe and sustainable return. Expressing concern about what they call the ignoring of the position and fate of BH Croats by Croatian state institutions, the Alliance demands that Croatian authorities recognise and support, in line with the Croatian Constitution and the Dayton agreement, legally elected representatives of the Bosnian Croat people, elected at last year's November elections, and to actively protect the sovereignty of the Bosnian Croat people. The Alliance also demands the implementation of a BH Constitutional Court decision on the quality of being constituent of Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks and requests that Bosnian Croat representatives who were not supported by the Croat electorate resign. The association supports the HNS request for equality of the Croat people. HNS president Ante Jelavic said the establishment of the alliance was the best proof that the Croat people in Bosnia and Croatia was united. Commenting on the political situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jelavic said the HNS could agree "only to Bosnia-Herzegovina as a state of three equal and constituent peoples." The Bosnian Croat people, like the other two peoples, must have the right to elect their representatives to the House of Peoples and the state Presidency, Jelavic said. The convention was also addressed by HVO General Zlatan Jelic who said that the disbanding of HVO units was only temporary and that HVO soldiers would return to their barracks sooner than some wanted. The HVO wants to be commanded by civilians who will be elected by a majority vote of one people in the elections, he said. More than 95 percent of HVO members have disbanded, Anic said, adding it was not true 900 HVO soldiers had remained in the barracks. Croatia's HDZ secretary-general Joso Skara said one could not keep silent about the current state authorities' leaving BH Croats at the mercy of the international community. (hina) rml