ROBERTSON AND NATO PERMANENT COUNCIL MEMBERS VISIT BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, March 18 (Hina) - NATO Secretary-General George Robertson and representatives of all 19 countries included in NATO's permanent council, arrived in Bosnia on Thursday to encourage authorities to reorganise Bosnia's armed forces and reduce military expenses. It is scandalous that the Bosnian army is spending close to 10 percent of country's gross domestic product, Robertson said after arriving in Sarajevo. This amount is three times higher that in the United States, he said. NATO's Secretary General said he expected that promises would be fulfilled. This means better results in the return of refugees, better cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the establishment of joint institutions in charge of defence issues, Robertson said. He met High Representative for Bosnia Wolfgang Petritsch in Sarajevo's airport. The Austrian diplomat told reporters he informed NATO officials of the efforts which were currently being invested in pressuring the two Bosnian entities' parliaments to adopt constitutional amendments which would ensure that all three peoples be constituent throughout Bosnia. (hina) it sb