MOSTAR ELECTRONIC COMPANY TO SUE SARAJEVO DAILY FOR DEFAMATION

( Editorial: --> 9299 ) SARAJEVO, Sept 9 (Hina) - Erotel, a company from the southern Bosnian town of Mostar, on Wednesday announced it would file a court action against Sarajevo daily paper Oslobodjenje, claiming the paper damaged the company's reputation by ascribing to it an "activity characteristic of terrorist organisations". Erotel, among other things, manages TV transmitters which re- broadcast Croatian Radio-Television programmes in Bosnia- Herzegovina (BH). The company's decision to file a court action comes in the wake of a front page article Oslobodjenje issued today under the headline "Erotel Endangers Sovereignty of BH". Quoting a written State Department opinion on Erotel's status which was allegedly forwarded to the office of the international high representative in BH on August 26, Oslobodjenje claims Washington believes the Mostar company is actually a Croatian government agency which acts illegally in BH, thus endangering its sovereignty. Further quoting the confidential American document, the Sarajevo paper says the Croatian government is, with a 76.5 per cent share, the majority owner of Erotel. The Mostar company is also described as one of a series of companies established by the Croatian Republic Herceg-Bosna which, according to Oslobodjenje, also includes Eronet. The latter manages the telecommunications system and the CRONET, a Croatian mobile phone network, in the parts of BH with a majority Croat population. The State Department allegedly believes that international legal experts were unable to confirm Eronet's explanation that it was established in line with laws of the Croat-Muslim Federation of BH. Erotel reacted by emphasising that it was a company legally registered in line with federal laws. Erotel also stated it fully abided by the federal law on foreign investments in the field of communications, as the foreign investor, in this case HRT, participates in the company with an allowed 49 per cent, whereas Eronet has the remaining 51 per cent of the capital. The Oslobodjenje article was interpreted as an "attempt at putting political pressure on the only major Croatian TV in BH". Erotel also said the data on ownership shares as published in the Sarajevo daily were the result of incorrect and tendentious computation of percentages relative to three different companies. (hina) ha 092150 MET sep 98