MESIC SPEAKS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON PEACE ACCORDS

DAYTON, Nov 18 (Hina) - Recent political changes in Southeast Europe facilitate a full implementation of peace accords on Bosnia five years after they were signed in Dayton, Croatia's President Stipe Mesic said on Saturday. Mesic was addressing the working part of an international conference marking the fifth anniversary of the Dayton peace accords, which ended the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.#L# Like most participants in the conference, Mesic believes the deficiencies of the accords are the result of the "only possible" compromise at the time which "in a certain way penalised the consequences of the war." The Dayton peace accords also contained "certain favours to the war lords of that time," he said, but stressed the accords not only stopped the bloodshed, but also set the foundations for democratic Bosnia. "The main characters left, and the policies changed, or appear to be changing... which means we are creating conditions for a full implementation of what was agreed on and thinking about how to go a step further," said Mesic. He believes the decision proclaiming the constituency of Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs on the entire Bosnian territory was very important. It is necessary to reinforce central state authorities and "fortify integrative factors", crossing the borders of the Croat-Muslim Federation and the Serb Republic, Bosnia's two entities, which Mesic said "are not separate states and must not behave as such." He believes it is more appropriate to "think about and act towards a general normalisation of relations among the states on the territory of the ex-Yugoslavia", to the detriment of so-called special relations of Bosnia's entities with neighbouring states. Mesic advocates the return of all refugees and displaced persons to pre-war homes "in peace and a dignified fashion," which he says is possible only within a broader context of normalisation of relations in the region. "We have to establish a uniform command over armed forces (in Bosnia) which will continue to be made of three elements but cannot have three commands," Mesic told the Dayton conference. He objects to any form of foreign financing of any component of Bosnia's military, saying Croatia has already reduced such financial assistance and "in due time" intends to call it off completely. Speaking about cooperation with UN's war crimes tribunal in The Hague, the Croatian president said it was important since "to consistently establish and individualise who the perpetrators of the crimes are is the only way to prevent the designation of any people's collective guilt." Mesic welcomed the recent post-election changes in Yugoslavia, voicing hope the current optimism would not prove unfounded, especially in connection with the resolution of open issues, the position of minorities in Yugoslavia, the status of Kosovo, and Serbia-Montenegro relations. He reiterated Croatia's stance on the equality of all successor states to the former Yugoslav federation, and offered Yugoslavia's new President Vojislav Kostunica "the privilege of setting priorities" for resolving open issues. The Croatian president said the role of the international community, the United States and the European Union in particular, was crucial. He suggested NATO should develop an appropriate strategy of action in instances calling for the preservation or imposition of peace. Mesic sees the future of the region "in a gradual, albeit not too slow approach and subsequent integration with Euro-Atlantic structures." The only admissible approach in that process is an individual one for each state, "in a regatta and not on a convoy." (hina) ha