FEDERATION DEFENCE MINISTRY COMMENTS ON SUSPENSION OF "EQUIP AND TRAIN" PROGRAMME

TRAIN" PROGRAMME ( Editorial: --> 9188 ) SARAJEVO, June 5 (Hina) - The Defence Ministry of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday said that the programme on equipping and training the Federation army, sponsored by the US Government, has been temporarily suspended. One of the reasons for the suspension of the "Equip and Train" programme is that federal partners and the special US envoy for implementation of the programme, James Pardew, have failed to agree on the use of the flag, the Ministry said in a statement, signed by Defence Minister Ante Jelavic. Jelavic described media claims saying that the United States was dissatisfied with the slow pace of integration of the Federation army as false and that all other requirements set by Pardew had been met. The decision on joint ranks and insignia as well as joint registration plates for all military vehicles has been implemented since June 1, Jelavic said, adding the US military attache Tommy Libby could see this for himself during his recent visit to troops on the ground. The request for all military facilities to have the Federation flag displayed as of the beginning of June has also been met, Jelavic said adding the suspension decision underestimated 18 months of hard work of the Federation Defence Ministry and Army. In regards to yesterday's State Department statement on the suspension of the "Equip and Train" programme, which says that the failure to remove Herzeg-Bosna flags and those of the former Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina from military barracks was the reason for the suspension decision, the Defence Ministry stresses that the problem has been wrongly addressed. "Insisting on a complete ban on the display of national flags is not something to be dealt with by a Federation ministry but by the highest political bodies in the Federation and Bosnia-Herzegovina since it concerns national rights and freedoms," Jelavic said, expressing hope that the misunderstanding would soon be resolved with respect for positive laws and international norms. The State Department yesterday announced that the implementation of the "Equip and Train" programme would be continued only after joint symbols are adopted by the Federation Army. In a statement to Sarajevo media, Assistant Defence Minister Gen. Ismet Hadzic shifted all the blame for the current problems to the Croat side. According to Hadzic, Bosniaks accepted while Croats rejected the US requests to stop using national flags. The creator of the Dayton agreement, Richard Holbrooke, yesterday told Voice of America that the suspension of the programme should be regarded in a wider context of behaviour of Bosnian Croats. It is not Serbs any more who pose the greatest threat to the Dayton agreement or the idea of a single state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. That threat is posed by Croats and this is only one of the manifestations of such behaviour, Holbrooke said. (hina) rml/bag 051713 MET jun 98