GELBARD: ELIMINATION OF EXTREMISM - ESSENTIAL FOR PROGRESS IN BOSNIA

BOSNIA ( Editorial: --> 4676 ) WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Hina) - Special US representative for implementation of the Dayton peace agreement, Robert Gelbard, on Wednesday said that the elimination of all forms of extremism in Bosnia-Herzegovina was of vital importance if further progress was to be achieved. It is of key importance to eliminate separatist and nationalist aims of ethnic extremists on all sides in Bosnia and on all sides throughout the region, Gelbard said at a one-day conference on Bosnia-Herzegovina, organised in Washington by the USA Peace Institute. The international community will in the next year dedicate itself not only to securing the return of all refugees, but also to restructuring the economy and improving the living standards of Bosnian citizens, Gelbard said. It is a great challenge in 1998 to make the leaders in Bosnia direct themselves towards that task, Gelbard said, mentioning the example of Bosniak leaders, who, in his opinion, should get rid of their mentality of maintaining the current situation and direct themselves towards modernisation and privatisation of economy. Gelbard also questioned the quality of work of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in preparing indictments. The United States believes that a considerable number of indictments will not hold in court, he said. The USA will not jeopardise any life in trying to arrest war crimes suspects if it believes that the case is not strong, he said. The US administration believes that it should have an opportunity to check the indictment before it starts any activity concerning the arrest, Gelbard said. He reiterated his concern over statements by Croatian officials, which, according to him, questioned the integrity of Bosnia- Herzegovina. He added that he was deeply concerned over the recent statements of Croatian officials, which indicated that they (officials) either did not understand or did not support the basic principles of Dayton - a sovereign, integral Bosnia. Those statements came at a time of growing violence against returnees in the areas which are under Bosnian Croat control, and at a time of continuing opposition of Bosnian Croats to the establishment of basic structures of authority the Dayton agreement calls for, Gelbard said. Croatian aspirations towards joining western institutions will be realised only if the Croatian government actively supports and cooperates the implementation of the Dayton agreement in Bosnia- Herzegovina and the Erdut agreement on the reintegration of the Croatian Danube River region, both of their letter and spirit, Gelbard said. They have been failing in that aspect lately and indicate that they intend to fail even more, he said. Speaking about Serbia, Gelbard said that the US administration remained 'deeply concerned' over the tense situation in Kosovo where the Albanian minority was being denied its basic human rights. The latest measures aimed at reviving the American-Serbian relations are reversible, Gelbard said, adding that the external wall of sanctions remained in force until real progress in Kosovo was made. He reiterated the standpoint of his government that Kosovo Albanians should seek a solution within Serbia and that his government resolutely rejected terrorism as a way to the final solution. (hina) jn rm 261230 MET feb 98