WESTENDORP'S OFFICE ASSESSES CROATIA'S PROPOSAL AS UNACCEPTABLE ( Editorial: --> 9638 )

( Editorial: --> 9638 ) SARAJEVO, Nov 10 (Hina) - The office of the international high representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday assessed Croatia's proposal to establish special relations with the Bosnian Moslem- Croat Federation as unacceptable. Legal experts at the office have analysed Zagreb's proposal and assessed that its implementation would be in direct violation of the Constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina, spokesman Simon Haselock told a news conference in Sarajevo. Haselock said that the establishment of a free trade zone, customs and monetary unions and a joint market, as proposed by Croatia, were issues which could not be decided by the Federation but only by the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The establishment of such zones and unions on the territory of Croatia and the Federation would mean a de facto division of Bosnia- Herzegovina, he stressed. Legal experts at the office of High Representative Carlos Westendorp argued that the Federation and Croatia could not solve open border issues because they fell under foreign policy and were a matter of Bosnia-Herzegovina's territorial integrity. A proposal that Croatia and the Federation should coordinate their defence policies and set up a joint military command was also described as unacceptable. Although defence falls within the jurisdiction of entities, the establishment of a joint military command with another state would constitute a violation of the sovereignty and integrity of Bosnia- Herzegovina, Haselock said. He added that issues related to European integration processes were also foreign policy matters under the exclusive jurisdiction of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Westendorp's office believes that any agreement on traffic corridors or on the use of the Croatian seaport of Ploce has to be concluded by Bosnia-Herzegovina and not by its entities because such an agreement has to refer to the whole country. The Croatian proposal is based on a wrong premise that the Washington agreement is still in force, Haselock said, adding that that agreement, which included a provision of a confederation, was annulled by the Dayton peace agreement. (hina) vm jn 101624 MET nov 97