ZAGREB, Dec 19 (Hina) - Croatia's Intelligence Service (HIS) of the Office for the National Security on Sunday refuted claims made by the international Stabilisation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR) that HIS was involved in illegal
activities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which were directed against the Dayton peace accords.
ZAGREB, Dec 19 (Hina) - Croatia's Intelligence Service (HIS) of the
Office for the National Security on Sunday refuted claims made by
the international Stabilisation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina
(SFOR) that HIS was involved in illegal activities in Bosnia-
Herzegovina, which were directed against the Dayton peace
accords.#L#
The allegations, made public by the SFOR at the December 17 press
conference in Sarajevo, were described by the HIS as "groundless,
without a valid argument and utterly unprofessional".
Quite contrary to claims of an SFOR deputy commander, Lieutenant-
General Charles-Henri de Mochy, the activities of HIS - as regards
the implementation of the Dayton agreements and cooperation with
international troops in Bosnia- were transparent for relevant
international factors and substantially contributed to the safety
and security of peacekeeping units, read a statement released on
Sunday by the office of the HIS Head.
For years HIS and the intelligence community in the Republic of
Croatia have been cooperating with foreign intelligence services
entrusted with the task to provide security and intelligence
protection of SFOR.
HIS has passed and is still passing vital information crucial for
the security of IFOR, SFOR and NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
According to the statement, HIS is willing to notify the public of
its activity toward Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as of its joint
projects with partner services in order to remove suspicions that
HIS is a disruptive factor in the implementation of the Dayton
agreements.
According to the same source, "unsubstantiated statements given by
SFOR are even more surprising as they negate also the transparent
contribution of the military and intelligence system of the
Republic of Croatia to peace forces and NATO operations in the
entire region during 1999." It added that the stands of Croatia's
Government and a wide range of assistance offered by the Croatian
Defence Ministry to the protection of NATO operation "Allied Force"
were known to the public.
HIS suggested that senior Croatian officials and SFOR Chief
Commander Lieutenant-General Ronald E. Adams should discuss all
misunderstandings caused by the October "Westar" operation and
confusion brought by the statement issued by SFOR on 17 December.
HIS assessed that the operation which SFOR conducted in Mostar on
October 14, could not contribute with its effects and consequences
to the implementation of the Dayton peace accords.
Circumstances of the SFOR action 'Westar' which accused the Croat
party of being the main culprit for a standstill and failure to
further carry out the Dayton accords, point to a probability that
there are smouldering quarrels inside the international community
and that there are different stands on the implementation of the
Dayton project, read the statement of HIS.
HIS, therefore, maintained that SFOR was a prey of the
manipulation, for political purposes, of those factors which, by
denigrating Croatia's intelligence community, simultaneously
disputed the entire Croatia politics toward Bosnia-Herzegovina,
although it was well known that it was the Croatian politics that
"contributed, to the greatest possible extent, to the creation of
conditions for the conclusion of the Dayton agreements, read the
HIS statement.
(hina) ms