SARAJEVO, April 22 (Hina) - The alleged theft of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina's defence plan, about which the Sarajevo media reported on Monday, is a piece of misinformation which was to serve for the settling of accounts
among political parties, competent sources confirmed on Tuesday.
SARAJEVO, April 22 (Hina) - The alleged theft of the Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina's defence plan, about which the Sarajevo media
reported on Monday, is a piece of misinformation which was to serve
for the settling of accounts among political parties, competent
sources confirmed on Tuesday. #L#
General Ramiz Drekovic, deputy commander of the Federation Army
joint command, resolutely dismissed in an interview with
"Oslobodjenje" daily claims about the theft of the defence plan or
some of its parts.
The federal defence minister, Miroslav Nikolic, gave a similar
statement, while the spokesman for the Stabilisation Force in the
country, Dale McEachern, said there was no information on the
alleged theft of classified documents.
Quoting an anonymous source from the Party of Democratic Action
(SDA), "Dnevni avaz" daily of Monday reported that 15 pages of a
document on defence preparations of the federal army had been
stolen from the federal defence ministry, interpreting this as a
new war threat. The stolen documents concern the defence tactics in
case of an attack from the Bosnian Serb entity and Serbia, the daily
reported, claiming that the US company Military Professional
Resources Inc (MPRI), which over the past years supervised and
implemented the reorganisation of the federal army in line with
western standards, was involved in the case.
General Drekovic also identified the sources of the false
allegations.
It is no secret that some retired Bosniak generals, known primarily
for their loyalty to the SDA, have been plotting for years against
their former colleagues who are still active members of the federal
army and who continued working for the army during the rule of a
coalition of non-national parties.
A former commander of the Bosnian army, general Rasim Delic, has,
for example, never forgiven the incumbent commander of the federal
army, Atif Dudakovic, for having evicted him from a house which he
had illegally occupied, considering it a kind of war booty.
After temporary retirement, Delic returned to the political scene
to become an advisor to the Bosniak member of the state presidency,
Sulejman Tihic.
The party conflicts in the Federation were a godsend for the Bosnian
Serb authorities, which recently have been plagued by army
scandals.
Serb Premier Dragan Mikerevic immediately conveyed his
government's concern over the reports in "Dnevni avaz", announcing
that he would discuss the matter with international
representatives in the country.
The Serb premier has said the reports prove he was right when at the
time he was the chairman of the Council of Ministers he tried to
prevent the hiring of MPRI, stating it would cause imbalance
between the entities' armies.
(hina) rml