NEW CROAT INITIATIVE MUST BE STRENGTHENED FOR ALTERNATIVE TO HDZ -

( Editorial: --> 3724 ) ZAGREB, Aug 14 (Hina) - The international Community must consolidate the New Croat Initiative (NHI) to be an alternative for the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), the Sarajevo-based International Crisis Group said in a statement Friday. In its report headlined "Changing Course? Implications of the Divide in Bosnian Croat Politics" described the recent establishment of the new Bosnian Croat party, NHI, as a crucial event which would have a positive effect on the implementation of the Dayton Agreement and the realisation of the international community's plan to reintegrate Bosnia-Herzegovina. The report carries a recommendation that the NHI be built into the strongest possible alternative to the HDZ BiH which consistently opposed the reintegration of Bosnia-Herzegovina. "The days of the Croat hard-liners in Bosnia are probably numbered, and having in place an alternative that would push for Bosnia-s reintegration would have enormous benefits for the international efforts to build a stable Bosnian state," the ICG said in the report. The ICG recommended a number of long and short-term measures to promote the NHI and its president Kresimir Zubak into the primary Croat supporter of an integral Bosnia-Herzegovina, from the upcoming elections to pressures on the HDZ BiH and the fight against the alleged corruption and crime reigning over the political life of Croats in Bosnia. The NHI should more actively participate in the electoral campaign before Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bosnian Croat refugees abroad in order to present their political message and achieve the best results possible. The international community must equalise parties' possibilities in the campaign by opposing the intimidation tactics of the HDZ towards any potential supporters of the NHI, the report said. The Croatian Radio Television's broadcasts must be put under scrutiny and possibly severed in Bosnia-Herzegovina if its reporting does not improve, the ICG said. The reign of hard-liners in Bosnia must be brought down by attacking the network of corruption, crime and connections which are the grounds for the political life of Bosnian Croats. The politics in Croatia, which significantly influences political currents among Croats in Bosnia will become more moderate as importance switches from the basic nationalist focuses such as sovereignty and integrity connected with the war to peace-time subjects such as economy, life conditions and unemployment, the ICG predicted. An analysis shows that the ruling HDZ will either be prevailed by a moderate stream or the party will divide. In both cases, more moderate trends in Croatian politics are most probable. The ICG sees Zubak's support to the reintegration of Bosnia- Herzegovina and the return of refugees and displaced persons as true, as opposed to Ante Jelavic, the new president of the HDZ BiH who, despite claims about his support to Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Dayton Agreement, has the support of those of those who want to ethnically cleanse western Herzegovina and hardly show any interest for the return of refugees, the report said. It is not probably that the NHI will win in the September elections among Croats, but it will achieve good results in Central Bosnia and Posavina, the ICG said. The report added that Zubak presented a strong competition to Jelavic as member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency. "Given that the NHI is unlikely to be able to dislodge the HDZ BiH in these elections, attention needs to be paid in the medium term to hastening the demise of the hard-line extremists within the HDZ BiH who have long hindered the reintegration of Bosnia," the report recommended. The International Crisis Group is described as a private, multinational organisation committed to strengthening the capacity of the international community to understand and respond to impending crises. Teams of political analysts based on the ground in countries at risk of crisis, gather information from a wide range of sources, access local conditions and produce regular analytical reports containing practical policy recommendations targeted at key international decision-makers. The IC, presided over by US senator George Mitchell, has already drawn up several reports on elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the situation in crisis areas such as Mostar, Brcko and Travnik, and on the problem of the return of refugees. (hina) lml 141749 MET aug 98