PRESIDENT MESIC COMMENTS ON RAIDED MOSTAR BANK

ZAGREB, April 7 (Hina) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic on Saturday commented on Friday's take-over of Hercegovacka Bank in the southern Bosnian town of Mostar. "If there was no other way to obtain data on the funds, the management of funds, the entry and exit of the funds, and when it became apparent that the financial channels were not transparent, force had to be resorted to in taking over Hercegovacka Bank," Mesic told a news conference in Zagreb.#L# The take-over was carried out by members of NATO's peace-keeping Stabilisation Force (SFOR), the International Police Task Force, and masked policemen of the Bosnian federation's government, spurring a series of clashes with Bosnian Croat civilians. "Given that the SFOR decided to enter the bank and review the... documentation, the street need not have responded," the President said, but added "it was not the street that responded, but those afraid of disclosure of who managed the funds and how." Every open issue in Bosnia must be resolved through the institutions of the system, as any other solution would ghettoise Croats in Bosnia, said Mesic. "Even if the international community made some wrong decisions, the way out is not in making ultimatums and resolving problems in the street and outside institutions, but through the institutions of the... federation and Republika Srpska," he added. A reporter inquired if it was true that during yesterday's visit to Zagreb, Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija had outlined a decision by the federation to close down unofficial border crossings between Croatia and Bosnia. "It is not about closing the crossings for good at all, which would prevent the citizens of one country to enter the other, but the fact is that the transit of goods cannot be supervised on every crossing," said Mesic. "Special crossings will be (opened) for goods, there where supervision can be ensured," he added. (hina) ha sb