CROATIAN OFFICIALS SUPPORT HDZ BIH STANCE OVER CANDIDATE REMOVALS

( Editorial: --> 8445 ) ZAGREB, Sept 6 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and his associates on Sunday met a delegation from the major Bosnian Croat political party in the wake of the removal of several candidates for Bosnia's nationwide elections next week. A statement from the Croatian President's Office said the meeting of Croatia's state-political leadership headed by President Tudjman and a Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) delegation headed by party president Ante Jelavic took place in the Presidential Court. It said the topic of discussion was the very serious political situation in the Muslim-Croat Federation and BH, especially following the removal of 18 HDZ BiH candidates for the September 12 and 13 poll. The HDZ BiH Presidency has already expressed its stance that the decision by the Election Appeals Sub-Commission (EASC) of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in BH was unfounded and assessed that it was a direct and undemocratic attempt to impose election results. It also said these and similar decisions could have "incalculable consequences" not only on the elections, but on the overall peace process in the Federation and Bosnia as a whole. The party's highest body resolutely warned that if its criticisms were not seriously taken into consideration and such actions continued, then the HDZ BiH 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 BH. The statement said the Croatian state-political leadership had considered and unanimously supported these assessments and views. The Croatian state-political leadership said it had a constitutional obligation to protect the sovereignty and equality of the Croat nation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and a responsibility to implement the Washington and Dayton peace agreements. As a result it wanted to point out to the international community, the Bosnian Presidency and the general public that extremely serious political circumstances had emerged which could threaten the whole peace process and cause a general crisis in the Federation and BH, and additionally destabilise the situation in this part of Europe. Because of everything mentioned here, the state-political leadership of the Republic of Croatia and the HDZ BiH Presidency call on all international factors and those responsible in Bosnia- Herzegovina to re-examine and overturn the aforementioned ruling, prevent all forms of electoral engineering and enable democratic elections, the statement said. Possible electoral engineering could threaten the positive results in the peace process up to now, and current negotiations on the establishment of special relations between Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and free access to the Croatian port of Ploce. Free and democratic elections are an important pre-condition which will enable the Croatian state-political leadership and the HDZ BiH Presidency to continue their current constructive policy and fully contribute to the continued implementation of the Washington and Dayton peace agreements. This especially relates to parts of the Washington agreement on confederal relations between the Republic of Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which even foresaw the establishment of a joint market and cooperation in several fields, as well as the harmonisation of internal legislation and conclusion of agreements on customs union, monetary union and defence arrangements, the statement said. In the Dayton accords such relations are earmarked as the rights of entities, and as such the Federation of BH can establish special parallel relations with neighbouring countries in accordance with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia, the statement ended. (Hina) mbr 061709 MET sep 98