JOINT STATEMENT FROM CROATIAN-BOSNIAN TALKS IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Sept 15 (Hina) - The delegations of Croatia, Bosnia- Herzegovina and the Moslem-Croat federation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, headed by presidents Franjo Tudjman, Alija Izetbegovic and Kresimir Zubak, held a meeting in Zagreb on September 13-14, a joint statement said. The delegations considered the implementation of the Washington accords and in this context passed decisions which should be carried out immediately. It was agreed that the signing of the Washington accords was followed by a cessation of hostilities but that there were still certain issues which needed to be solved, as a crucial condition for further implementation of those accords. The delegations expressed their firm political will to fully and consistently implement the Washington agreement. They adopted a Customs Cooperation Agreement and would sign it soon, and also reached a high degree of consent on a Railway Transport Agreement. The delegations agreed to continue talks at a level of expert groups on concluding an Economic Cooperation Agreement. They agreed to bring into accord views on a Property Protection Agreement, the use of the Adriatic port of Ploce and transit through the coastal town of Neum. Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina agreed that their exisiting diplomatic and consular missions would be in the service of both in countries where one of them did not have its own mission. Bosnia- Herzegovina will act for Croatia in Tunisia, Qatar, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Malaysia whereas Croatia will in return represent Bosnia-Herzegovina in Japan, China, India, South Africa, Portugal, Chile and Argentina. It was agreed that Croatian and Bosnian televisions would work out a joint news service which would be broadcast once a week. The delegations agreed that interim municipal government authorities would be set up by 30 September 1994 and cantonal authorities by 31 Ocotober. Simoultaneously, all vacant government posts would be filled in order to ensure adequate representatation of Croats and Bosniacs (Moslems) in federal bodies. If transitional cantonal authorities were not set up by the said deadline, the Government would appoint temporary commissioners. It will be recommended to the Federal Constitutional Assembly to pass legislation on local self-government, including the formation of new municipalities in keeping with the Vienna Agreement. A joint command of the Bosnian Army and the Croat Defence Council (HVO) would be established in line with the Split Agreement, and federal laws would be drafted on the final organization of federal armed forces. The delegations will propose to federal authorities to pass legislation to ensure free flow of people, goods and services and to bring into accord customs taxes as a precondition for the economic integration of all parts of the Federation of Bosnia- Herzegovina. It was agreed that during a transitional period federal police, whose composition would reflect the ethnic structure, would supervise road traffic between the southern Croatian town of Metkovic and the northern Bosnian town of Doboj, as well as a railway line from the Croatian border to Sarajevo. The federal government would decide on the use of those communications within 14 days. The delegations decided that all displaced persons and refugees had a right to return to their homes, particularly the victims of the earlier conflict between the HVO and the Bosnian Army. They agreed to draw up and implement a programme of the retun of refuges and displaced persons, and to appoint federal government officials to deal with the matter. A special programme of return and reconstruction would be drafted for the victims of Serb aggression. In this respect, the delegations said they would appeal to the international community for cooperation and assistance. It was agreed that adequate national representation would be ensured in all diplomatic and consular missions, so that if the ambassador is a Bosniac, his first adviser should be a Croat, and vice versa. It was agreed that the Bosnian ambassador to the United Nations in New York would a Bosniac (Moslem) and the one in Geneva a Croat, and that the Bosnian ambassador to the United States would be a Croat and to Switzerland a Bosniac. The chiefs of the following diplomatic missions would be chosen from among Bosnian Croats: Rome, Budapest, Ljubljana, Bonn and Washington. It was also agreed that two new diplomatic missions would be opened in Australia and Canada. The Australian mission would be headed by a Bosnian Croat and the Canadian by a Bosniac. The ethnic structure of diplomatic missions in the Near, Middle and Far East would be dealt with separately. (hina) vm 151249 MET sep 94