STEINER WARNS FEDERAL PARTNERS NOT TO JEOPARDISE FEDERATION PROJEC

PROJEC $ T SARAJEVO, March 16 (Hina) - The deputy of the High Representative for implementation of peace agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Michael Steiner, warned today that the current situation in Bosnia- Herzegovina caused serious concern. In his appeal to officials of the Croat-Muslim Federation, carried by today's issue of the Sarajevo-based daily 'Oslobodjenje', Steiner stressed that the deterioration of relations in the Federation had been caused by a lack of will of both sides to implement the existing agreements and to observe deadlines they had agreed upon. That posed a threat to the very foundations of the Federation, Steiner said. #L# Decisions by the EU Administrator of Mostar Hans Koschnik had been irresponsibly jeopardised by the local Croat authorities. On the other side, certain agreements reached at the ministerial level had been publicly denied by subordinate Bosniac officials in Sarajevo and had not been implemented, he said. Steiner also recalled that agreed schedules had not been observed in the area of economic and customs reintegration either, resulting in a negative impact on freedom of movement. Those things were not in the interest of citizens and constituent peoples of the Federation, Steiner said. An additional problem was the fact that cantons and municipalities had still not been established in line with the Federation's Constitution and that pilot-projects of return of refugees had not been implemented. Steiner called on the federal partners not to allow further deterioration of relations and not to use the international community to hide consequences of their passivity. The Federation could function only if both partners showed their full commitment to the federal solution. Such a solution could not be imposed from outside. The Office of the High Representative was willing to provide all necessary help to the federal partners, Steiner said in the appeal. (hina) rm 161103 MET mar 96