MOSTAR: UN MISSION REFUSES HDZ'S LATEST CANDIDATE FOR CANTONAL INTERIOR MINISTER

MOSTAR, Oct 17 (Hina) - The UN Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina has rejected a proposal by Bosnia's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) that Ljubo Beslic be appointed interior minister of the country's southern Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and called on the party to nominate another candidate who would advocate the unification of the cantonal interior ministry and the town of Mostar. UN Mission spokesman Stefo Lehmann told reporters in Mostar on Wednesday the UN would not make the same mistake with Beslic as it had done with his predecessor Ivan Mandic, who was cantonal interior minister in the past three months. Lehmann accused Mandic of denying the UN Mission access to information in the cantonal interior ministry and thwarting the establishment of a single ministry, including refusal to appoint Croats to senior posts, which hampered efforts to establish ethnic balance in the ministry. Lehmann claims serious irregularities have been discovered in the operation of the cantonal interior ministry, including, among else, a large number of police cars being used by unauthorised persons, and high bills for mobile phones, which, he says, the ministry gave to unauthorised individuals from the HDZ leadership. (hina) rml