MOSTAR, March 9 (Hina) - The dismissed Croat member of Bosnia-Herzegovina's three-man Presidency, Ante Jelavic, on Friday said that instead of him, the Croat self-rule head, Marko Tokic would assume the civilian command over the HVO
(the Bosnian Croat military component in the Croat-Moslem Federation). Jelavic explained at a news conference in Mostar that under the decision of the Croat National Assembly on the proclamation on the Croat self-government on Bosnian areas populated mainly by Croats, it was stipulated that the self-government head should take over the command over the HVO in case when the Bosnian Presidency's Croat member may be prevented from carrying out that duty. Both Jelavic and Tokic, along with another two senior officials of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), are barred from performing public political duties, under the decision of the inter
MOSTAR, March 9 (Hina) - The dismissed Croat member of Bosnia-
Herzegovina's three-man Presidency, Ante Jelavic, on Friday said
that instead of him, the Croat self-rule head, Marko Tokic would
assume the civilian command over the HVO (the Bosnian Croat
military component in the Croat-Moslem Federation).
Jelavic explained at a news conference in Mostar that under the
decision of the Croat National Assembly on the proclamation on the
Croat self-government on Bosnian areas populated mainly by Croats,
it was stipulated that the self-government head should take over
the command over the HVO in case when the Bosnian Presidency's Croat
member may be prevented from carrying out that duty.
Both Jelavic and Tokic, along with another two senior officials of
the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), are
barred from performing public political duties, under the decision
of the international community's High Representative to Bosnia,
Wolfgang Petritsch, who imposed the sanction on them after the
(HDZ-led) Assembly's proclamation of the self-rule in the said
areas.
Jelavic and other HDZ BiH representatives told reporters that the
set-up of the Croat self-rule would practically start as of 19
March, after the expiry of the 15-day-long deadline which the
Assembly fixed at its Mostar session on 3 March.
At that session, the Assembly announced a possibility of the
abolishment of the self-rule within that time-term in case that
requests it forwarded to its political partners (Bosniaks or
Moslems and Serbs) and the international community be fulfilled.
The main request is the guarantee of the equality of the Croat
people throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Today the HDZ leaders reiterated that in case the conditions were
not met, the self-rule would become permanent.
Tokic added that the police were under competence of local
(cantonal) interior ministries and he anticipated no problems with
the police during the establishment of the Croat self-rule in the
said areas.
Jelavic told reporters that he was flabbergasted by recent
information that charges should be pressed against him the case of
the 1999 assassination of the then federal deputy interior
Minister, Jozo Leutar. According to Jelavic, he will be accused of
ordering Leutar's murder.
The circumstances of Leutar's assassination are still unclear. He
lost his life in the blast of a car bomb in Sarajevo in the mid-March
1999.
An indictment was today issued in Sarajevo against Ivan Andabak,
believed to be the mastermind behind Leutar's killing, and another
five persons. Andabak, HVO general, is currently being tried in
Croatia on the charges of drug trafficking.
Jelavic asserted that the information on his involvement in the
Leutar case had originated from High Representative Petritsch.
Jelavic explained that Petritsch had given the information to the
recently-appointed Bosnian Ambassador to Yugoslavia, Lidija
Topic.
At the news conference in Mostar Jelavic called on the Austrian
diplomat to explain why the charges should be pressed against him in
that case.
(hina) ms