SARAJEVO, March 4 (Hina) - 'An attempt to change Sarajevo into a single-nation and single-party canton could be the introduction into the exodus of all Croats from the area', Anto Zelic, Vice President of the Sarajevo City Assembly
told at today's session of the Sarajevo City Assembly which had been called for today as a constituent session of the Sarajevo canton. Representatives of the Croat people did not participate at today's session.
SARAJEVO, March 4 (Hina) - 'An attempt to change Sarajevo into a
single-nation and single-party canton could be the introduction
into the exodus of all Croats from the area', Anto Zelic, Vice
President of the Sarajevo City Assembly told at today's session of
the Sarajevo City Assembly which had been called for today as a
constituent session of the Sarajevo canton. Representatives of the
Croat people did not participate at today's session. #L#
Sarajevo could become an even greater problem for the
Federation than Mostar, Zelic warned.
The party of Democratic Action (SDA) was trying to change
Sarajevo from a city community into a canton in which the SDA and
the Bosniac-Muslim people would have complete authority.
The attempt by the SDA to call the session for today failed
because the Croat representatives in the City Assembly refused to
participate, warning that the session was an illegal act.
City Assembly Vice President Anto Zelic warned that the
establishment of the Sarajevo canton would mean the end of the city
as a multi-ethnic area.
According to the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Sarajevo should be organised as a district and
according to the Dayton Agreement as the capital of Bosnia-
Herzegovina.
'If Sarajevo is to be organised as a canton, it is necessary
to change the Constitution which means that the Federation's
Constituent Assembly has to voice its opinion on the matter', Zelic
warned, adding that until then 'canton' would be treated as an
illegal category.
The Croat representatives wanted a minimum of authority-
sharing, but the SDA wanted to have authority all by itself, Zelic
added.
This one-sided act was also an illegal attempt to dissolve the
City Assembly as a legal body, elected at the 1990 elections. Such
an attempt would also need a constitutional amendment, Zelic said.
It is expected that the SDA and the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ) in Bosnia-Herzegovina would begin talks in the next few days
on the reorganization of Sarajevo.
At the end of today's session, Sarajevo Mayor Tarik Kupusovic
announced that the new session could be held in four or eight days.
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