WESTENDORP - HDZ HARDLINERS VICTORY IS BAD FOR CROATIA

( Editorial: --> 9042 ) SARAJEVO, Oct 16 (Hina) - The high international representative for Bosnia on Friday said he was alarmed and disappointed with the victory of the so called hardliners in Croatia's ruling party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). Carlos Westendorp told Sarajevo weekly "Slobodna Bosna" he was alarmed and disappointed with this week's resignations handed in by several prominent HDZ officials. Those who advocate normalisation of life in Croatia and Croatia's progressive reintegration with European movements are being left aside, the high representative stated. He believed this course of events was bad for Croatia which, like Bosnia, has conditions to become a member of the European family of countries. Such acts increasingly further Croatia away from the road to Europe which, Westendorp said, is very sad. He warned that the HDZ crisis would evidently affect the situation in Bosnia. Any politician who fails to follow the moderate and practical ideas of the population's majority and yields to hardliners and cheaters will always remain a hostage to the latter, Westendorp said, adding these were very dangerous situations. He pointed out the latest events within the HDZ were stopping the implementation of the Croatian-Bosnian agreement on the ports of Ploce and Neum, which on the Croatian side had been initialled by the recently resigned Croatian presidential chief-of-staff Hrvoje Sarinic. There is a battle between those who genuinely want to be normal, pragmatic Europeans, and those who do not, Westendorp said, adding the sad fact seemed to be that in Croatia the latter were prevailing. The high representative also criticised the Croat member in Bosnia's collective Presidency and president of the Bosnian HDZ Ante Jelavic on account of a recent speech in Capljina, a town in southern Bosnia. Westendorp believed Jelavic's speech had been nationalistic in the worst sense of the word. It is currently being closely analysed. What follows is the testing of the Bosnian Croat leadership to establish whether it will follow Jelavic's speech or the Dayton peace agreement. In case of the former option, Westendorp announced resolute counter measures. (hina) ha 161821 MET oct 98