BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENT TO HOLD CONSTITUENT SESSION ON 27 DEC

( Editorial: --> 0807 ) SARAJEVO, 24 Dec (Hina) - The Office of the High Representative for the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement has confirmed that the constituent session of the new Bosnian Serb parliament will be held on 27 December in Bijeljina, north-eastern Bosnia. In a statement issued Wednesday, Westendorp's office said it was officially informed that the president of the dissolved Bosnian Serb assembly had called a session of the parliament elected in the early elections in November in line with a deadline set by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which implemented the parliamentary elections, asked that the first session of the new parliament be held by 23 December, while Serb hard-liners from Pale tried to postpone the session until January. They also insisted that the first session be held on Mt Jahorina near Pale, where the assembly dominated by the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) used to meet. However, they had to give up their requests after Carlos Westendorp repeated that he was ready to secure the functioning of the new parliament, with or without SDS. (hina) mm rm 241655 MET dec 97