MUJAHADEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR SUSPENSION OF 'EQUIP & TRAIN' - MAGAZINE

SARAJEVO, May 28 (Hina) - The latest issue of Sarajevo-based independent "Dani" magazine said an equip and train programme intended for the army of Bosnia's Croat-Muslim federation has been suspended because the Muslim side still tolerates the presence of the mujahadeen in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Quoting unnamed sources among top United States administration officials and diplomatic circles in BH, the magazine says the State Department has requested senior Bosnian Muslim military and political officials to immediately banish from BH a Mujahadeen who settled in central Bosnia after the conflict of earlier this decade and whose activities are connected with an entire series of terrorist attacks registered in that part of the country. A request made by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's to that effect had been conveyed to Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic in late March by U.S. special envoy for the Balkans Robert Gelbard and NATO Stabilisation Force chief commander Montgomery Meigs, the magazine said. Unless the Mujahadeen is banished from Bosnia, the U.S. side will not consent to the continuation of the equip and train programme, "Dani" says, and reminds that the several hundred soldiers from Islamic countries who have stayed in BH even after the conflict have been a continuous source of misunderstanding between Washington and Bosnia's top Muslim officials. Allegedly, a country willing to accept to the controversial Mujahadeen is being looked for, a difficult task considering that he is being sought by police forces of various states. "Dani" further indicates that the whole situation has put additional pressure on the Bosnian Croat side, which has not taken a more resolute stand with regard to the matter due to unfamiliarity with the real reasons behind the suspension of the programme. (hina) ha