CRO AMBASSADOR TO BOSNIA SENDS PROTEST LETTER TO SCHUMACHER

( Editorial: --> 1505 ) ZAGREB, Feb 12 (Hina) - Croatia's Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Darinko Bago on Thursday sent a protest letter to Hans Schumacher, Deputy High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, concerning some of Schumacher's statements published in an interview with the Zagreb-based daily "Vecernji list", the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday. The Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina had taken as a starting point for negotiations Croatia's draft agreement on the establishment of an inter-state council for cooperation between Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina, just as the Government of the Federation of Bosnia- Herzegovina had accepted as a starting point a draft agreement on special relations between Croatia and the Federation, Bago said. He dismissed Schumacher's claims that the first attempt of the Croatian government to establish those relations had so far been unacceptable since it did not respect the territorial sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Negotiations on the two agreements between Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina and Croatia and the Federation are expected, Bago said. Bago resolutely dismissed Schumacher's statement on a reported unannounced journey of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to Bosnia-Herzegovina, adding that every visit of President Tudjman had been announced with the competent authorities of Bosnia- Herzegovina. The Croatian ambassador also protested that Mr Schumacher was beginning to characterise the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina as an inter-ethnic conflict rather than an act of aggression identical to the one against Slovenia and Croatia, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in the statement. (hina) mm rm 121936 MET feb 98