BOSNIA'S TOP OFFICIALS VISIT MOSTAR

MOSTAR, April 24 (Hina) - The situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina has been stabilised for the last 15 days despite attempts of the Croat self-rule to destabilise it, and the state has gradually been gaining complete control over the Croat military component (in the Croat-Muslim federal army), said two members of Bosnia's three-man Presidency, who on Tuesday visited the southern city of Mostar. The two members, Croat Jozo Krizanovic and Muslim (Bosniak) Beriz Belkic, visited Mostar where they attended the foundation-stone laying ceremony for a new Jewish synagogue and cultural centre, and held talks with Muslim (Bosniak) representatives of Hercegovina- Neretva Canton and the city of Mostar. No Croat official showed up at the meeting with the two Bosnian top officials. Krizanovic, who took this post after the international community dismissed Ante Jelavic from the Presidency, said he was expecting that "all legally elected representatives of the Croat people will return to the institutions of the system," as it would be the only possible way "to overcome the constitutional and legal crisis." Belkic reiterated the Presidency's stand that the responsibility for problems in the Croat-populated areas lay with the Croat National Assembly (HNS) which declared self-rule in the said areas. No talks could be conducted with people who went beyond the constitutional frameworks, he added. The HNS, led by the HDZ party which decided to boycott the newly established bodies of authority, described today's visit of the Presidency's Croat member Krizanovic only to the eastern part of Mostar (populated mostly by Muslims) as the confirmation that Krizanovic was not a legitimate representative of the Croat people. According to a statement released by the HNS, with their tour only to East Mostar, they "legalised the current situation in Mostar and supported its division." (hina) sb ms