SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, Oct 29 (Hina) - The Bosnian Serb Defence Minister Slobodan Bilic and army chief-of-staff Novica Simic, who offered their resignations owing to an arms sale scandal, were relieved of their duties at a marathon
session of the Supreme Defence Council of the Republic of Srpska on Monday night.
SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, Oct 29 (Hina) - The Bosnian Serb Defence
Minister Slobodan Bilic and army chief-of-staff Novica Simic, who
offered their resignations owing to an arms sale scandal, were
relieved of their duties at a marathon session of the Supreme
Defence Council of the Republic of Srpska on Monday night. #L#
The council held the session in Banja Luka trying to respond to
increasingly severe demands of the international community for the
establishment of responsibility of everybody implicated in the
scandal surrounding the sale of weapons and military equipment to
Iraq and the violation of a UN embargo on arms sale to the Saddam
Hussein regime.
So far, it has been established that the air force institute in the
town of Bijeljina called "Orao" mediated in murky dealings.
The resignation of Bilic and Simic is a symbolic move, given that
the term of office of the entity's incumbent government expires in
coming days.
General Simic was quoted by the "Oslobodjenje" daily on Tuesday as
saying that he had no knowledge of the arms trade between the "Orao"
factory and Iraq, but he tendered his resignation regarding himself
accountable by virtue of his office.
The US Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Clifford Bond, told the
Croat-Muslim television last night that the US Administration
would not be satisfied with the resignations, and that Washington
would insist on instigating criminal proceedings against all
involved in the scandal.
The Bosnian Serb authorities decided to wait for the results of a
comprehensive investigation before responding to such requests.
The probe will be expanded to cover all plants manufacturing
military equipment and arms.
According to Sarajevo-based media, the audit in the business
transactions could be expected in the military plants in the
Federation on suspicion that they were involved in the illegal
trade.
Two of the 'suspicious' companies are the Sarajevo-based "UNIS" and
the Vitez-based "Vitezit".
The UNIS management and the federal deputy defence minister, Ferid
Buljubasic, refuted the allegations, saying that the factory had no
capacities for the production of such equipment and arms, after
Bosnian Serbs dismantled a great part of the equipment and stole it
during the war.
"Vitezit" in central Bosnia, however, can produce missile fuel, and
according to an OSCE official in Bosnia, Robert Beecroft, the
international community possesses data that such fuel was exported
in Iraq.
There are another six companies, located throughout Bosnia, whose
business activities should be checked.
Until the completion of the probe, no military factory in Bosnia is
to be allowed to export its products.
The highest state bodies have not to date been authorised to control
the military industry, as its work has been only under the control
the two entities' authorities.
(hina) ms