SFOR OFFICIAL MEETS REPS OF BOSNIA'S ENTITIES' ARMIES

MOSTAR, Feb 18 (Hina) - The commander of the Stabilisation Force (SFOR)'s multinational division for Bosnia's southeast sector, General Pierre Lang, on Thursday met in Mostar with representatives of a mixed commission of Bosnia's two entities' armies. The commission includes commanders of the Croat and Muslim components of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Army and commanders of the Bosnian Serb entity army in southern Bosnia. According to Lang, talks tackled the control of military exercise grounds, bringing professionalism in the armies up to date, depoliticising the armies, and this year's operation of collecting weapons and ammunition. The commander of the Bosnian army's First Corps, General Nedzad Ajnadzic, assessed that cooperation between the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Bosnian army was "satisfactory" and was "in the period of a three-year transition," during which the HVO and the Bosnian army, the two components, "must begin growing into one." Ajnadzic said that was not an exclusively military issue, but a political one too. He also advocated the unification of the army "on the level of the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina." The weaponry and ammunition collecting operation will begin in March. According to Lang, all those who surrender weaponry will be amnestied, i.e. will avoid persecution. A similar operation was led by the SFOR last year, but this year, domestic military and political authorities will coordinate, while the SFOR will only provide support, Lang said. (hina) ha jn