BOSNIAN AMBASSADOR TALKS ABOUT SPECIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN CROATIA ( Editorial: --> 2204 )

( Editorial: --> 2204 ) ZAGREB, Nov 19 (Hina) - The Ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Zagreb, Kasim Trnka, spoke about special relations between Croatia and the Bosnian Federation at Wednesday's forum of the Zagreb Mosque. Estimating that the Croatian draft agreement on special relations with the Bosnian Federation had awoken great interest of the domestic and international public, Trnka stressed that in order to understand better the term "special relations", one had to recall the Washington and Dayton agreements which stopped the aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Washington Agreement had mentioned confederal relations, because at the time, a final solution for Bosnia-Herzegovina had not been familiar, he said. However, he added, after the Dayton Agreement, nothing had been said about confederal relations, because such an agreement could only be signed by sovereign states, and the Bosnian Federation was not a sovereign state, but only one of the two entities of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Dayton Agreement had set the foundations for stabilising the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Agreement, binding not only to Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also to its neighbours, achieved a preservation of international subjectivity and territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Trnka said. The special relations, spoken about as a new term in the Dayton Agreement, had to be in accordance with the political integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, he added. With its suggestion of a gradual establishment of special relations - such as a free trade zone, customs union, joint market, monetary union and joint appearance before European integrations, tackled issues which were not in the authority of the Bosnian Federation, Trnka said, adding that these issues were exclusively in the authority of the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. With this proposal, Trnka said, Croatia had "overstepped the Dayton Agreement". Bosnia-Herzegovina was interested in good relations and cooperation with Croatia, including special relations between the Bosnian Federation and Croatia, but strictly keeping in mind the Dayton Agreement which clearly stated what were inter-state and what special relations. By granting the Croatian proposal de facto and i de iure, a division of Bosnia-Herzegovina would be carried out, and it would cease to exist as an international and legal subject, Trnka said. (hina) lm 192255 MET nov 97