U.S DIPLOMAT WARNS CRIMINALS FROM SERBIA MAY FIND SHELTER IN BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, April 23 (Hina) - The U.S. Ambassador to Sarajevo, Clifford Bond, has voiced concern over the possibility that after the lifting of the state of emergency in Serbia, thousands of criminals who will be released from jails, might seek shelter in Bosnia-Herzegovina. #L# Giving his interviews to two local papers -- the Sarajevo-based Dnevni Avaz and Banja Luka-based Nezavisne Novine dailies-- the American diplomat repeated his warning on two consecutive days. According to Dnevni Avaz, Bond points out that there is a fear that criminals, involved in drug smuggling, white slavery and other illegal activities, could try to find shelter in Bosnia and re- establish their businesses there. The American is particularly surprised at seeing that some people in power in Bosnia do not take seriously this problem and the international community must urge them to respond in a better manner to challenges that are coming from Serbia. He warns that it is possible that Bosnia may turn into a European Afghanistan harbouring many fugitives. According to him, the international community is aware of links which criminals have in Bosnia and in this context he cited the example of Momcilo Mandic, recently nabbed in Belgrade. Mandic is believed to financially assist in harbouring Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb war-time leader wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Bond alluded that the incumbent authorities in the Republic of Srpska must have had some knowledge about activities of Mandic, a former minister in the Karadzic cabinet and currently businessman with murky dealings. Police and officials in the Bosnian Serb entity have claimed that they could not arrest Mandic as they had no evidence against him. They continued to treat him in the same way even after the international community froze his accounts abroad, proclaiming him as the main financier of Karadzic while he is on the run, the ambassador explained. (hina) ms