KILLER OF FORMER WAR-TIME BH VICE PREMIER ARRESTED

( Editorial: --> 0059 ) SARAJEVO, 6 Feb (Hina) - Sarajevo police on Friday arrested Bosnian Serb Goran Vasic, suspected of murdering a war-time Vice Premier of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hakija Turajlic. According to a statement released Friday by the Sarajevo Canton Interior Ministry, Vasic (born in 1972), was arrested on Federation territory, in the Sarajevo suburb of Dobrinja, near the inter- entity border line. UNHCR spokeswoman in Sarajevo Ariane Quentier told Hina that Bosnian Serbs protested against Vasic's arrest and blocked two UNHCR buses for civilian transport. The buses were stopped in the area of Kula, near Dobrinja, in the vicinity of Serb police and International Police Task Force (IPTF) stations. None of the passengers were detained and negotiations on letting buses pass were held in the evening hours. Stabilisation Force (SFOR) have increased the number of patrols at the site of the incident. Hakija Turajlic was killed in January 1993, on the road from Sarajevo airport, then controlled by Bosnian Serb units, which held the Bosnian capital under siege. Turajlic was shot dead after French UNPROFOR soldiers allowed Serbs to open the door of the armoured personnel carrier (APC) which carried Turajlic from the airport to the town. Under still unknown circumstances, French lieutenant Sartre, the then commander of airport, which was under protection of 'Blue Helmets', allowed Serbs to search the APC although it was against the rules of UN peacekeeping forces. After the door was opened, Vasic shot over the shoulders of French soldiers, killing Turajlic on the spot. Lieutenant Sartre did not try to stop the killer nor did he request the back-up of blue helmets, which were located nearby in large numbers. An investigation following the killing of Turajlic, carried out by the then Interior Ministry of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, identified Vasic as the main suspect. (hina) rm 062150 MET feb 98