PASSAGE OF DEFENCE ACT PREREQUISITE FOR "EQUIP AND TRAIN" PROGRAM

SARAJEVO, May 1 (Hina) - The passage of a Defence Act by the Federal Parliament was the most important test of the political will to really support the Federation. It was also a prerequisite for the implementation of the US-sponsored "Equip and Train" program, Special US Representative for military stabilisation, James Pardew, told a Sarajevo press conference on Wednesday. #L# For a week now, Pardew has been holding talks with Croat and Moslem representatives to try and resolve the controversial points in the draft Defence Act. "Significant progress has been achieved in talks with Defence Minister Vladimir Soljic, his deputy Hasan Cengic and generals Budimir and Delic," Pardew said. Two controversial points remained - the integration of military forces and the decision-making procedure on which units conscripts would be assigned to. "We are going to continue the talks today and the US contingent thinks these issues could be easily solved," he said. So far, it has been agreed that military forces would be separated from political influence and that political activism would be forbidden to officers. Soldiers would be allowed full freedom of religion. The Act would strongly forbid any kind of ethnic or religious discrimination. The Federation's armed forces would be fully professionalised. "We have also agreed the chain of command until the election and defined the relationship between national and federal command structures," Pardew said today. The process of gradual integration of military structures within the Federation could begin immediately after the passage of the Defence Act, Pardew said. He also stressed that the problem of foreign troops in Bosnia should be resolved immediately after the passage of the Act, which was another prerequisite for the "Equip and Train" program. (hina) as 011526 MET may 96