SONTHEIM: SFOR OPERATION IN MOSTAR IS LEGAL

MOSTAR, Oct 20 (Hina) - The acting head of the Mostar Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Gerhard Sontheim, on Wednesday said the operation carried out last week by the Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Mostar was a legal measure. Sontheim was referring to last week's SFOR operation in downtown Mostar, the suspension of the commander of the Croat component of the BH Federation Army, Major General Zlatan Mijo Jelic, and a three-month broadcasting ban for the Croat radio station Mostar, pronounced by the Independent Media Commission. These measures should be understood as proof that the international community is determined to implement the Dayton agreement and punish all those obstructing that process, Sontheim told reporters. He dismissed claims by Bosnian Croat officials that the operation was directed against the Croat people and aimed at removing the leading Bosnian Croat party - the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) - from the political scene. According to Sontheim, last week's operation in Mostar did not jeopardise relations between the Croatian authorities and the international community, but was rather a misunderstanding which needed not provoke a crisis. Speaking about Gen. Jelic, Sontheim said Jelic had not been replaced but suspended, and added military officials should exercise caution in expressing their political views. (hina) mm rml