SARAJEVO, Oct 28 (Hina) - The scandal with the sale of weapons to Iraq by the Bijeljina-based air force institute "Orao" is taking on increasingly serious proportions, with recently uncovered information pointing to a well-organised
arms trade chain which may involve more sides than the Bosnian Serb entity and Yugoslavia.
SARAJEVO, Oct 28 (Hina) - The scandal with the sale of weapons to
Iraq by the Bijeljina-based air force institute "Orao" is taking on
increasingly serious proportions, with recently uncovered
information pointing to a well-organised arms trade chain which may
involve more sides than the Bosnian Serb entity and Yugoslavia.
#L#
The international community's High Representative to the country,
Paddy Ashdown, said for the first time on Sunday it was quite
possible that the illegal arms trade with Iraq was a regional
problem whose proportions at the moment could only be speculated
about.
US diplomat Robert Beecroft, who now heads the OSCE Mission to
Bosnia, has warned about the fact that the trade with Iraq also
involves the delivery of missile fuel and not only spare parts for
obsolete MIG-21 planes and their maintenance.
Beecroft has confirmed for the first time speculations that the
regime of Saddam Husein received from the Balkans substantial
support for the development of missile technology, including
equipment for mass destruction, which is considered the main threat
in the event of a possible US intervention against Iraq.
By the end of this week the OSCE Permanent Council will receive a
special report on the matter from Sarajevo.
The investigation will probably include the military industry in
the Croat-Muslim federation, particularly following a warning by
Serbian Vice-Premier Nebojsa Covic that Sarajevo's UNIS company
and "Vitezit" from the central Bosnian town of Vitez closely co-
operated after the war with Belgrade's "Jugoimport", which is
believed to be the main mediator in deals with Iraq.
It is interesting that amidst requests for a prompt investigation
into the arms trade with Iraq, Republika Srpska Defence Minister
Slobodan Bilic and the entity's army chief-of-staff, General
Novica Simic, two people who must definitely know more about Orao's
past operations, have decided to leave the country for a visit to
Burma, another country with which arms trade is forbidden.
(hina) rml sb