OFFICE OF HIGH REPRESENTATIVE IN BOSNIA INSISTS ON CITIZENSHIP LAW

( Editorial: --> 8781 ) SARAJEVO, 16 Dec (Hina) - A failure to respect the deadline for the adoption of the law on citizenship of Bosnia-Herzegovina could cause serious punitive measures, spokesman for the Office of the High Representative Simon Haselock told reporters in Sarajevo Tuesday. The Office was currently considering proposals on necessary measures, to be sent to the international community and the Council for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement, because the deadline for the adoption of the citizenship law was not respected, he said. The content of those proposals would depend on whether the session of the Bosnian Parliament would continue today or not, Haselock said. Westendorp's spokesman expressed hope that the Office of the High Representative would not be forced to use the powers it had been given at last week's Bonn conference. The lower house of the Bosnian Parliament failed to discuss the citizenship law last night because Serb representatives insisted that a statement confirming the right of Bosnian citizens to Yugoslav citizenship be adopted together with the law on Bosnian citizenship. Bosniak (Muslim) representatives insisted that the law on citizenship be adopted in the form in which it had been proposed earlier, and that the statement on dual citizenship be discussed separately. Haselock said the statement on dual citizenship only confirmed the right to dual citizenship which is guaranteed by the Bosnian Constitution. According to Haselock, an agreement on that problem had almost been reached at last night's three-hour consultations between the interested parties, but later the agreement was again put into question, which prevented the adoption of the law. (hina) jn rm 161710 MET dec 97