BOSNIAN CROAT PROPOSAL FOR TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY TO FEDERAL BODIES

BODIES $ SARAJEVO, Aug 8 (hina) - The Bosnian Croat side has presented an integral plan for the establishment of Federal institutions and the transfer of competence from Herzeg-Bosnia and the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Croat-Moslem Federation before the September elections, Federation President Kresimir Zubak said on Thursday. The plan has been presented to the Moslem side and will be discussed at a meeting of the Federation Forum later in the day. The meeting will be attended by the US Assistant Secretary of State, John Kornblum and Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic. "We have proposed an integral plan which specifies the time frame for the passage of new laws, the establishment of federal institutions and procedures for engaging personnel," Zubak said. The latest political, diplomatic and media pressure aimed at the immediate abolition of all functions of Herzeg-Bosnia stemmed from an erroneous interpretation of the Dayton Agreement, according to Zubak. "The Agreement specifies that the transfer of authority from Herzeg-Bosnia onto the Federation will be conducted simultaneously with the transfer of most functions from the Republic of Bosnia- Herzegovina to Federal bodies," Zubak said. According to Zubak, the main reason for the present delay was the insistence of the Moslem side to keep as much competence as possible at the Republic level. Since the signing of the Dayton Agreement, the Parliament of the Republic has passed 26 new acts which seriously impinge on the Federation's constitutional authority, Zubak said. The latest example is the passage of the Public Health Act, he said. "For the Croatian side, the transfer of authority from Herzeg- Bosnia to the Federation is only a technical matter and we are ready to complete this job before the elections," Zubak said. "But the Moslem side will have to undertake much more radical measures in this sense to reduce the competence of the Republic," he said. The Croatian side had acquainted Kornblum with this issue at last week's Federation Forum meeting, Zubak said. He quoted Kornblum as saying that only two ministries should remain at the level of the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina - the ministries of foreign affairs and foreign trade. "If Federal institutions, inlcuding the Bosnian Radio and TV do not start functioning before the elections, the Federation will find itself in a much worse situation than the Serb entity which has already established its infrastructure," Zubak concluded. (hina) as 081601 MET aug 96