MOSTAR COURT STRIPS JELAVIC OF RIGHT TO REPRESENT BOSNIAN HDZ

MOSTAR, March 1 (Hina) - A canton court in Mostar, southern Bosnia- Herzegovina, has stripped the former president of Bosnia's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), Ante Jelavic, of the right to represent the party, court judges said on Friday. In line with a decision by the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Court in Mostar, Jelavic has been erased from the court's register as the person authorised to represent the party, the judges said. The decision was passed at the request of High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch, who threatened to ban the party from taking part in a general election this October if Jelavic continues to be at its helm. Petritsch replaced Jelavic from all political posts and forbid him to involve in any political activity last spring, after the Croat National Congress, which is chaired by Jelavic, declared temporary Croat self-government. Despite the replacement and ban on political activity, the Congress last autumn re-elected Jelavic president in a single-candidate vote. Jelavic recently said he would leave the political scene if he was considered an obstacle to HDZ's taking part in the elections this autumn. (hina) rml