SABOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ON DAYTON DEAL'S IMPLEMENTATION

ZAGREB, Nov 21 (Hina) - Sabor foreign affairs committee on Tuesday supported a proposal of the Croatian Democratic Union that a discussion on the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and of the contract on special relations between Croatia and the Croat- Moslem Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina be added to the agenda of the House of Representatives' session. The committee, which considered this issue, will make conclusions after the Zagreb Summit, set for 24 November. Expounding the HDZ proposals, Milan Kovac said the Dayton agreement was being wrongly interpreted and recently there had been cases of the violation of the Constitutions of Croatia and the Bosnian Federation to the detriment of Bosnian Croats. "Croatia, being a signatory to the Dayton agreement, has the right to protect the Croatian people in Bosnia-Herzegovina, namely its sovereignty, the fact that it is a constituent people, and its equality and (Croatia) has the right to take political steps in cases of the departure from or violation of the agreement," Kovac claimed. During the debate on this topic, committee members said Bosnian Croats' rights had to be protected but simultaneously conflicts with international community should be avoided as this might be counter-productive. They agreed that this was a national rather than party-related topic and the lower house should certainly consider it. Committee members agreed that the change of election rules immediately prior to the Bosnian election was a wrong move, but the referendum (initiated by the HDZ BiH on the very day of the ballot) could also be described as a wrong move. A Deputy of Croatian Foreign Minister, Vesna Cvjetkovic Kurelec, who attended the committee's session to make it clear what the Government and her ministry were doing to protect interest of Croats in Bosnia, said the Government supported the implementation of the Dayton deal and all efforts invested in the possibility that Bosnia may become a democratic country. However, she added, the Racan Cabinet reacted when it assessed that Bosnian Croats' rights were threatened. "We have emphasised that electoral rules are not of technical but of political nature and sanctions taken against the HDZ BiH will not produce positive results," she said. Cvjetkovic Kurelec stressed that the Foreign Ministry was drawing upon a strategy of the Croatian Government towards Bosnia and was making efforts to promote dialogue between representative of the Croat people and international community. (hina) jn ms