SARAJEVO, Jan 9 (Hina) - The NATO-led Stabilisation Force in +Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR) on Saturday carried out an action in +which it seized a part of the military equipment owned by the Croat +Defence Council (HVO), the
Sarajevo-based SFOR command said in a +statement.+ According to the SFOR statement, the action was launched following +the order of the SFOR chief commander, General Montgomery Meigs, +and represented a response to the unauthorised appointment and +promotion of several HVO generals, done two days before by Ante +Jelavic, a member of Bosnia's three-man Presidency.+ SFOR requested the immediate suspension of those appointments and +promotions.+ The Office of the High Representative (OHR) joined the request. It +also issued a statement emphasising that appointments have to +ensure that commanders of the entities' armies are competent and +loyal to the Constitution as well as politically and financially +independen
SARAJEVO, Jan 9 (Hina) - The NATO-led Stabilisation Force in
Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR) on Saturday carried out an action in
which it seized a part of the military equipment owned by the Croat
Defence Council (HVO), the Sarajevo-based SFOR command said in a
statement.
According to the SFOR statement, the action was launched following
the order of the SFOR chief commander, General Montgomery Meigs,
and represented a response to the unauthorised appointment and
promotion of several HVO generals, done two days before by Ante
Jelavic, a member of Bosnia's three-man Presidency.
SFOR requested the immediate suspension of those appointments and
promotions.
The Office of the High Representative (OHR) joined the request. It
also issued a statement emphasising that appointments have to
ensure that commanders of the entities' armies are competent and
loyal to the Constitution as well as politically and financially
independent.
The SFOR statement added that the action had been carried out by
NATO soldiers at two locations and in those units connected with the
officers whose appointments turned contentious. Other details were
not revealed.
Jelavic's office stated on Thursday that General Zivko Budimir had
been replaced by General Zeljko Siljeg at the office of the deputy
commander of the joint command of the Croat-Moslem Federal Army,
and that General Zlatan Mijo Jelic had been appointed to the vacant
post of the commander of the First Guard Corps.
Jelavic's office also announced a decision to promote several
officers to generals and brigadiers.
Jelavic's act was a flagrant violation of the instruction about
making the entity's military forces professional, released on
December 6, 1998. According to those instructions, the SFOR
commander is authorised to approve appointments and promotions of
officers of the entities' armies at the rank of generals, but in
this case he did not give consent, the SFOR statement read.
SFOR said they were in contact with Jelavic and were taking measures
to solve the current problems swiftly so that future appointments
could be done on the grounds of professional criteria and without
influence of politics.
The SFOR command expressed regret at having to take Saturday's
action, but stressed its resolution to fulfil completely its
mandate.
(hina) ms