CROATS FROM HERZEGOVINA CANTON BOYCOT MEETING WITH SCHWARTZ- SCHILLING

ZAGREB, Mar 10 (Hina) - Croat officials from Herzegovina-Neretva Canton on Friday boycotted a meeting with Christian Schwartz- Schilling, international mediator for Bosnia-Herzegovina, to which they were invited to discuss the situation in the canton, especially in Capljina, with Bosniak and international officials. Condemning their act, Schwartz-Schilling told reporters such a policy was short-sighted and led to complete isolation. He announced that he would inform Croatian President Stipe Mesic about it and request an explanation from the leaders of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH). Commenting on the situation in Capljina, the international mediator said he had information that the town was ruled by a group of criminals who were manipulating Croat refugees from central Bosnia currently living in Capljina. Not a single request by Bosniak refugees for the return of property has been solved in Capljina, he said, adding that a local HDZ official, Krunoslav Kordic, was responsible for the situation in the town. Schwartz-Schilling also said the time had come for Bosnian Croats to choose whether they would go forward by accepting the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina and joining Europe, or backward into isolation. (hina) rml