LIVNO: ACCUSATIONS BY INTERNATIONAL REPS ARE UNFOUNDED

LIVNO, Mar 10 (Hina) - The head of Herceg-Bosna Canton, Mirko Mihaljevic, on Friday dismissed claims by international representatives that a state of complete lawlessness was reigning in the canton. "Unjust and unfounded accusations by international representatives regarding the non-functioning of the bodies of authority in Herceg-Bosna Canton, especially in the Interior Ministry and judicial system, as well as increased pressure on the canton authorities over the last twenty days do not reflect the actual situation in the canton in which the authorities are investing significant efforts to establish the rule of law and secure respect for it," Mihaljevic told a news conference in Livno. Mihaljevic said that Serb and Bosniak refugees were returning to the canton and added that refugees from Republika Srpska and some 50 municipalities from the territory of the Federation of Bosnia- Herzegovina, who were not able to return to their homes, still lived in the canton. He added the return of refugees should be a three-way process. Mihaljevic also said that property-rights laws were being implemented in the canton and that persons of Serb and Bosniak nationality were being employed in the canton Interior Ministry, in line with plans on the organisation of a multiethnic canton police force and the employment of minorities. (hina) mm rml