BH ISLAMIC COMMUNITY PROTESTS AGAINST PROBES BY COUNTRY'S AUTHORITIES

SARAJEVO, June 5 (Hina) - The head of the Islamic community in Bosnia-Herzegovina, efendi Mustafa Ceric, on Wednesday condemned frequent and thorough raids of Islamic humanitarian organisations operating in the country. #L# Speaking at a news conference in Sarajevo, Ceric said it was only reasonable to ask who considered humanitarian assistance from Muslim countries objectionable. He slammed the forcible raiding of the organisations by a large number of armed police. "This sends out completely unacceptable messages about the activities of humanitarian organisations from Muslim countries, which have been accused of involvement in the international terrorist network, particularly since September 11. Those accusations are not only false, they are maliciously generated by those who want to identify the act of an individual with an entire religion," said Ceric. Following the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001, the authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina started thorough check-ups into the operation of humanitarian organisations from Muslim countries which are suspected of possibly being used as a cover for terrorist organisations, including Al Q'aida. The head of the Islamic community believes that the Bosnian authorities are going too far with the probes, although he does not question the need to sanction possible mistakes in business operations. Ceric believes that the Bosnian authorities and international representatives are discriminating against organisations headquartered in Muslim countries. "At the same time, they are tolerating the fact that the Red Cross of Republika Srpska is headed by Radovan Karadzic's wife," Ceric said. Ceric claims that the country has been losing the support of its friends in the Muslim world. He concluded by saying that after the massacre in Srebrenica, where 10,000 people were killed, no one, the United States included, had the right to lecture Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina. (hina) rml sb