NO REASON FOR DELAYING RATIFICATION OF SPECIAL RELATIONS - SAYS OHR

SARAJEVO, Mar 4 (Hina) - The Office of the High Representative (OHR) for Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH) on Thursday said there existed no obstacles to the immediate ratification of an agreement on special parallel relations between Croatia and the Federation of BH. Deputy HR Simon Haselock told reporters in Sarajevo the ratification of the agreement, signed last November, did not require the Bosnian parliament's consent. The interested parties resolved all doubts regarding the agreement's contents prior to its signing, Haselock said. He reminded the agreement had been discussed by the federal parliament prior to its signing by then federal president Ejup Ganic, and that all doubts had then been eliminated. There should be no disagreement now with regard to the agreement's contents, Haselock said. He pointed out Ganic himself confirmed on February 27 the agreement's contents were not contentious, and added the HR had been surprised by the fact that federal authorities had not yet accepted the agreement appropriately. From the OHR's point of view, the procedure of the agreement's adoption is absolutely clear, Haselock said. He pointed out BH's Constitution explicitly grants Bosnia's two entities the right to establish special parallel relations with neighbouring countries without prior consent from the Bosnian parliament. Another OHR's legal interpretation is that the only control mechanism which may be referred to in similar cases is Bosnia's Constitutional Court, and not the Bosnian parliament, as the former's intervention is stipulated by the Constitution. The parliament's consent is necessary only when entities sign other kinds of agreements with other countries, Haselock said. He added the OHR expected the two parties which signed the agreement to comply with obligations deriving from the agreement. What we can do is put pressure on them and this is what we will do, Haselock concluded. (hina) ha