CONFERENCE ON BOSNIAN FEDERATION HELD IN BONN

BONN, April 25 (Hina) - Senior officials from Germany, Croatia, the Federation and Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United States, the United Nations and the World Bank ended a conference on the Bosnian Federation in Petersberg Castle outside Bonn on Thursday after adopting a joint declaration. The declaration stressed the determination of the conference participants to contribute fully to the functioning of the Croat- Moslem Federation and to the implementation of all agreements that had been reached so far. The declaration emphasized the need for establishment of executive and administrative structures in all cantons and municipalities of the Federation. The final document emphasized the importance of recontruction for reconciliation, return of refugees and lasting peace as well as the importance of freedom of information. The declaration welcomed a proposal by the World Bank to allocate to Bosnia-Herzegovina a loan worth about USD 110 million, which would be discussed by the World Bank steering committee in June. The document was signed by the President, Vice President and Prime Minister of the Federation, Kresimir Zubak, Ejup Ganic and Izudin Kapetanovic, and the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Finance Minister of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hasan Muratovic, Jadranko Prlic and Drago Bilandzija. The signing of the declaration was witnessed by Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic, US Assistant Secretary of State Peter Tarnoff, German Foreign Ministry official Wolfgang Ischinger and the deputy high representative in charge of implementing civilian aspects of the Dayton peace accords, Michael Steiner. Participants also reached an agreement on the restructuring of the Federation police force which stipulated the establishment of a special commission which would work in cooperation with the UN International Police Task Force (UN IPTF) commissioner on restructuring the Federation police force. On May 20, the UN IPTF commissioner would give instructions on police restructuring which should enter into force as of May 31. The instructions would be applied first in the Sarajevo area. Further restructuring would be carried out on cantonal level according to a schedule set by the restructuring commission. The police restructuring process must be completed by September 1 this year. Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic described the conference as successful. "We have agreed on the final setup of the Federation police and on new uniforms with new insignia," Granic told a joint news conference after the meeting. "We have also agreed on a mechanism for monitoring human rights and a reconstruction program for the Federation," Granic said, adding that some important laws, especially those on finances, would be passed under urgent procedure. Granic said that talks on the final adminstrative setup of four municipalities - Vares, Bugojno, Capljina and Stolac - were continuing, expressing hope that they would end successfully. German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel described the meeting as yet another step towards final peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Kinkel stressed that an important agreement on establishing a joint police force on the territory of the Federation was reached, the implementation of which may provide greater security and an encouragement to refugees to return to their homes. He urged support for the European Union administration of Mostar. The next meeting on resolving possible desputes between federal partners was expected to be held in Washington on May 14. (hina) vm mm 252107 MET apr 96