INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUSTN'T FORGET ABOUT BH DUE TO KOSOVO CRISIS - WESTENDORP

SARAJEVO, June 17 (Hina) - High Representative for Bosnia Herzegovina Carlos Westendorp on Thursday stressed that the international community, in solving the Kosovo issue, must not forget its obligations towards Bosnia-Herzegovina. In an interview released by the Bosnian news agency ONASA, Westendorp said he supported the fast and persistent action which was undertaken to solve the Kosovo crisis, adding however that the Kosovo issue was smaller than the one in Bosnia-Herzegovina. According to the High Representative, the Kosovo issue can be solved by the establishment of a legal protectorate, which is not the case in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The issue in Bosnia-Herzegovina is more complicated that the one in Kosovo. If Bosnia-Herzegovina takes the wrong direction, this will happen with the entire region, Westendorp said. He stressed that great progress has been achieved in Bosnia- Herzegovina since the signing of a peace agreement. Westendorp added, however, that the stabilisation of the situation in the country was a slow process because of a model drafted in Dayton, according to which, all important decisions were to be reached by local leaders. The High Representative stressed that so far, BH citizens were, out of fear, voting for national parties. In his opinion, the situation is gradually changing and indicators of democratic changes inside of ruling parties are more visible. Westendorp described initiatives for changing the Dayton Agreement as very dangerous games by which Pandora's Box would be re-opened. The High Representative said he would leave Bosnia-Herzegovina after being elected at the European Parliament. (hina) it