PETRITSCH HAILS PROGRESS IN BOSNIA

VIENNA, Oct 18 (Hina) - The international community's High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, and the head of the OSCE mission in that country, Robert M. Beecroft, on Thursday hailed the progress made in the political and economic recovery of Bosnia. At a news conference they held in Vienna where they were taking part in the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Permanent Council's work, Petritsch and Beecroft urged more political will and efforts to be shown in the implementation of reforms aimed at the acceleration of democratic processes in Bosnia. Implementation is a long process, Petritsch said adding that Bosnia was undergoing two kinds of transition: one is from war into peace and the other is from a stagnant into a democratic and investment economy. He said the authorities of Bosnia's two entities - the Croat-Muslim federation and the Serb republic - had started showing more readiness to carry out reforms but they had to do more to meet their promises. One of priorities of the international community in that country is to ensure the return of refugees, Petritsch and Beecroft stressed. In the first eight months of this year, 50,000 people returned to their pre-war homes in Bosnia. The number of registered returnees increased by 69 percent as against the same period last year, Petritsch told reporters. (hina) ms