HDZ BIH ACCUSES EASC OF ATTEMPTING TO IMPOSE ELECTION RESULTS

( Editorial: --> 8284 ) MOSTAR, Sept 5 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina's leading Croat political party has criticised a decision by an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) body to strike 15 of its candidates off lists for next week's nationwide elections. An emergency meeting of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia- Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) Presidency in Rama on Friday night said the latest Election Appeals Sub-Commission (EASC) decision was unfounded and a direct, undemocratic attempt to impose election results. "We hold that these and similar decisions can have incalculable consequences not only on the forthcoming elections, but also on the overall peace process in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina," warned the HDZ BiH Presidency in a statement from the Rama meeting released on Saturday. In view of the series of shortcomings on which the EASC decision was based upon, the HDZ BiH Presidency said it had asked the highest authority in the OSCE mission in Bosnia, mission head Ambassador Robert Barry and the Provisional Election Commission (PEC) to immediately re-examine the decision and allow democratic elections based on the wishes of the population. The HDZ BiH Presidency also warned and called on international community representatives responsible for the implementation of the peace agreements, and especially for the forthcoming elections, to cease delivering such unreasonable decisions which seriously brought into question the implementation of the Washington and Dayton agreements. The party's highest body said the HDZ BiH was prepared to continue cooperating with the international community on a consistent implementation of the peace process. But it resolutely warned that if its criticisms were not taken into serious consideration, then the party might consider not participating in the elections, as well as the non-participation of Croat representatives on all levels of authority in the Muslim- Croat Federation and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Because of the extreme seriousness of these newly created conditions, the HDZ BiH Presidency has sought a meeting with Croatia's state and political leadership. At the end of the presidency statement the HDZ BiH called on all its members, supporters and all Croats in BH to maintain peace and dignity and not to submit to any provocation, because it believed that only the force of unity - based on guarantees achieved in the Washington and Dayton agreements and constitutional resolutions - would maintain the sovereignty and equality of the Croat nation. (Hina) mbr 051512 MET sep 98