$ SARAJEVO SARAJEVO, March 3 (Hina) - "We are strongly protesting against the unconstitutional and illegal attempt to organise the City of Sarajevo as a single-nation canton. According to the Constitution of the Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo is the Federation's capital and an internationally administered district. Bosniacs and Croats are constituent peoples of the Federation. According to the Dayton Agreement, Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina and it had been allocated to the Federation. Through this unconstitutional and illegal organisation of the city, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) wants to legalize the existing war situation - authority of one people and one party", said a statement of the Sarajevo Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) branch, relating to a constituent cantonal assembly, which had been called for March 4, 1996, and which is to discuss the organisation of Sarajevo as a canton.
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$ SARAJEVO
SARAJEVO, March 3 (Hina) - "We are strongly protesting against the
unconstitutional and illegal attempt to organise the City of
Sarajevo as a single-nation canton. According to the Constitution
of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo is the
Federation's capital and an internationally administered district.
Bosniacs and Croats are constituent peoples of the Federation.
According to the Dayton Agreement, Sarajevo is the capital of
Bosnia-Herzegovina and it had been allocated to the Federation.
Through this unconstitutional and illegal organisation of the city,
the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) wants to legalize the existing
war situation - authority of one people and one party", said a
statement of the Sarajevo Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) branch,
relating to a constituent cantonal assembly, which had been called
for March 4, 1996, and which is to discuss the organisation of
Sarajevo as a canton. #L#
The SDA once again showed that its aim was not the
establishment of the Federation, but the realisation of 'an
already recognisable aim'. The HDZ representatives would not
participate in 'the illegal constituent assembly', the statement
said, calling on other Croat representatives not to take part in
the session.
Sarajevo Croats wanted to live together with Bosniacs and all
other Sarajevans but they demanded that they have a minimum of
authority in legislative, executive and judicial authority in order
to be able to protect their national and political interests. The
establishment a single-nation canton would mean that Croats could
neither survive nor remain in the city, that statement said.
Therefore, the Sarajevo HDZ branch asked that the constituent
assembly be postponed until Croats and Bosniacs reached agreement
on the organisation of the city which would be in line with
constitutional provisions.
'Otherwise, Sarajevo Croats will be forced to look for other
solutions in order to protect their national and political
interests', the statement said.
The Sarajevo HDZ branch called on all Croatian state and
political factors to halt the establishment of the Federation until
the problem of the establishment of Sarajevo was solved in a
constitutional and legal way.
(hina) rm
031840 MET mar 96