BOSNIA HDZ REFUTES CHARGES PRESSED AGAINST NINE CROAT OFFICIALS

MOSTAR, Oct 10 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) denied allegations from criminal charges pressed against nine Croat officials by Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Assembly's vice-chairman, Asim Suta, on Friday. This party on Saturday described such charges as "a dangerous and harmful political act that can affect the further implementation of the Dayton Accords and the settlement of the most important problems in that canton, and the entire Federation of Bosnia- Herzegovina." Suta preferred criminal charges at the Canton Attorney's Office in Mostar against those nine Bosnian Croat canton officials for, as he stated, "the abuse of position or authority." Those officials are cantonal ombudswoman Fanika Zelic, the manager of "Sume Herceg-Bosne" Pero Markovic, the manager of the Pension Insurance Fund in Mostar, Ivan Bender, cantonal prime minister Frano Ljubic, the manager of the Mostar-based Aluminium Plant, Zeljko Raguz, the manager of the Bosnian Federation's Surveyor Administration and former prefect Zeljko Obradovic, deputy prefect Rade Bosnjak, and deputy cantonal justice and administration minister Marko Loncar. According to a statement issued by the HDZ BiH information office yesterday, the political leadership of the Coalition for the United and Democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina, headed by the Moslem SDA party, intended to cause political incidents by pressing those charges, in order to "de-stabilise the entire processes and security in that canton" of the Croat-Moslem Federation. The Croat party held that the purpose of such an act was to destabilise the return of refugees as well as positive processes in the recovery of the economy. The HDZ also fully supported the aforementioned officials, against whom charges were pressed, and reiterated that Suta's conduct was politically motivated. (hina) ms