HDZ BIH LEADER:WE NO MORE RECOGNISE INT. COMMUNITY'S ADMINISTRATION

MOSTAR, Nov 12 (Hina) - The President of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), Ante Jelavic, said shortly after the Saturday midnight that the mission of the international community's representatives in the country - Robert Barry of OSCE, High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch, and UN official Jacques Klein - are history for the Croat people in Bosnia. "We no longer recognise that administration of the international community, as it intended to transform Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country of three equal peoples, into civil society without the Croat people," Jelavic told a news conference in the southern city of Mostar. "For us that administration is discredited and we do not regard it as a credible and responsible partner to co-operate with the Croat political and state leadership in Bosnia-Herzegovina," Jelavic claimed commenting on announcements of international officials that punitive measures would probably be taken against the HDZ party owing to its organisation of the referendum on the very day of the general elections. The OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) mission head, Robert Barry, said on Saturday night international factors viewed this unauthorised referendum as a serious violation of election rules and regulations, which explicitly forbade any activities of political parties during the ban on electioneering. At his news conference in Mostar, Jelavic asserted that "despite an atmosphere of unfair and undemocratic elections" over 70 percent of Croats with the right to vote went to the polls and over 70 percent cast ballots for his party. He proclaimed the absolute victory of the HDZ in the federal cantons of Western Herzegovina, Herzegovina-Neretva and Herceg-Bosnia (Livno), Central Bosnia and Posavina. "After such an election victory the HDZ BiH will be open for a dialogue but in the line with the Declaration on the Rights and Position of the Croat People in Bosnia-Herzegovina," Jelavic added. According to the initiators of the referendum at which Croats were called by the HDZ and its kindred parties to express their opinion on the declaration, this document advocates the equality of Bosnian Croats and the set-up of Croat institutions throughout Bosnia- Herzegovina. It also suggests a new constitutional, legal and territorial arrangement of the country, which the HDZ and kindred parties proposed in Novi Travnik on October 28 when they set up the Croat people's parliament. The international community's officials in Bosnia have condemned this move of the HDZ BiH. Barry of the OSCE added that the HDZ leadership turned to be a kind of Politburo usurping the right to represent all Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I do not believe that Bosnian Croats have delegated their right on decision-making to the Politburo which introduces itself as the Croatian people's parliament, Barry said on Saturday. Several parties with the 'Croat' premodifier were against this referendum as well, including the Croatian New Initiative (NHI), the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS) in Bosnia, and the Croatian National Community. They also refuted to take part in the Novi Travnik founding meeting of the aforementioned parliament. Leading dignitaries of the Catholic Church in Bosnia - Archbishop and Auxiliary Bishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljic and Msgr. Pero Sudar respectively - called on the faithful to go to the polls in the general elections but they made no mention of the referendum in their statement, released a few days before the election. (hina) ms