BOSNIAN HDZ WARNS OF HIDDEN MOTIVES IN ATTACKS ON CROATS

( Editorial: --> 2575 ) MOSTAR, Aug 9 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina's main Croat party fears an "unsuitable approach" has been taken to "ever frequent incidents of attacks on Croats" in the country. Following Friday's attack on two Bosnian Croat soldiers by a mob of rod-wielding villagers near the southern town of Jablanica, the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) issued an appeal on Saturday to the public and international community. In a statement carried by the Bosnian Croat news agency Habena, HDZ BiH secretary-general Marko Tokic said the attacks appeared to be mostly "aimed at members of the Croat nation". He recalled the unexplained attacks on Croats in central Bosnia, especially the recent killing of Travnik policemen Perica Bilic and Ante Valjan, as well as Friday's incident which also occurred in a Bosniak (Muslim) held area. "In this regard I look at the latest beating up of members of the Federation Army's 1st Guards Brigade 'Ante Bruno Busic', Luka Zelenik and Pavo Krizanac, which simply offers the unavoidable conclusion that these are not just common acts of violence, but are obviously results of a coordinated action with chosen motives," Tokic said. The HDZ BiH secretary-general assessed that the violence was "a message on the impossibility of any form of cooperation, which was secretly sent off repeatedly by exactly those who most often publicly proclaimed not only tolerance, but even unity. And the blame is always directed at the victims". (Hina) mbr 091204 MET aug 98