OSCE CHAIRMAN HOLDS TALKS WITH BH FOREIGN MINISTER

SARAJEVO, Mar 19 (Hina) - Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen, on Wednesday held talks in Sarajevo with the Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH), Jadranko Prlic. After the meeting, also attended by the leader of the OSCE mission in BH, Robert Frowick, Petersen told reporters that he was certain that the September municipal elections in BH would be held on a level higher than those last year. Frowick and OSCE in BH had done all in their power as regarded the elections, Petersen said, but added that parties in BH must take the responsibility for the quality of the elections. OSCE would assist in every way, but the parties must understand their role in the elections, he further added, and stressed that the basic conditions for free and democratic elections were the freedom of movement, the freedom of organization and expression, as well as to ensure cooperation with all media in BH. The international community and OSCE believed that the municipal elections were one of the main preconditions for the future of BH, Petersen said. Prlic said that the OSCE mission had an important role in the forthcoming elections and in the process of disarmament in BH, but in Croatia and Yugoslavia as well, in accordance with last year's agreement signed in Florence, Italy, as well as in the respect of the freedom of the media and of human rights. According to Prlic, the preparations for the elections were today assessed positively, although as yet unsolved was the issue of the establishment of new municipalities, especially in those parts of BH with inter-entity boundaries. Denmark would continue aiding BH in accommodating refugees, in the reconstruction of the country and in the establishment of democratic institutions, Prlic concluded. (hina) ha 191524 MET mar 97