POWER-SHARING CRUCIAL FOR BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA - BILDT

SARAJEVO, Sept 9 (Hina) - The international community's high representative for the implementation of the peace agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Carl Bildt, said on Monday that an international military presence in this country would be necessary even after elections. Bildt told a news conference in Sarajevo that that presence was necessary to deter any military options in the region for the next few years. He said that a final stance on the problem had not been taken at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland this weekend, but that the issue was "broached". The meeting fully supported a "consolidation plan" that should help establish joint government institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina after the September 14 elections and its economic reconstruction and development. Bildt said that measures had been prepared in the event of attempts to block the establishment and work of Bosnian government institutions, but he declined to elaborate on them. Power-sharing is crucial for this country because only in this way can blockades be avoided, he said. Bildt said that after the elections Bosnia-Herzegovina would most probably be the most decentralized country in the world, which would not mean that its entities would be allowed to act like independent states. Only the full implementation of the Dayton peace agreement can ensure necessary economic support to Bosnia-Herzegovina, he added. Bildt went on to say that between 40,000 and 60,000 voters were expected to cross the inter-entity boundary on election day, when a large number of refugees would arrive from Croatia and Yugoslavia. On that day the NATO-led peace implementation force would regulate traffic on 19 roads to ensure unimpeded passage between the Moslem-Croat and Serb entitites. Only vehicles with more than eight passengers would be allowed to use those roads. (hina) vm jn 091538 MET sep 96