E.U. TO TACKLE POLITICAL CRISIS IN MOSTAR

MOSTAR, July 18 (Hina) - Ambassadors of European Union countries to Bosnia-Herzegovina announced on Friday they would get involved in efforts to resolve a political crisis in the southern city of Mostar which emerged after officials of the Muslim-led Democratic Action Party (SDA) left the commission charged with drafting the city's statute. #L# The Embassy of Italy, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, said in a statement that the ambassadors of EU countries would pay a joint visit to Mostar on Monday because Mostar and the Herzegovina canton were in "an especially critical phase". The ambassadors would focus on the work of the statute commission. The Mostar branch of the SDA has decided to boycott the further work of the statute commission because it wants Mostar to remain divided into six districts -- three with a majority Muslim population and three mainly populated by Croats. The boycott is backed by the SDA presidency in Sarajevo. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) is in favour of dissolving the six districts and organising the city as a single district, which is supported by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ- BH) party. The OHR has condemned the SDA, warning that its boycott was undermining the unification of Mostar. The mandate of the statute commission expires at the end of this month by decision of the OHR. (hina) vm