TWO BRCKO-RAVNE MUNICIPAL LEADERS REPLACED AT HDZ'S SUGGESTION

SEONJACI, Oct 30 (Hina) - The Municipal Council of Ravne-Brcko (a Bosnian Croat enclave in northern Bosnia-Herzegovina), on Thursday replaced its president and the municipal head. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Sarajevo yesterday expressed its concern over the attempts of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) to remove several senior officials in the Ravne-Brcko municipality. The OHR said it believed that those attempts violated the existing rules and regulations. The OHR judged that the only reason why the municipal leaders were replaced was that they had left the HDZ BiH and joined the New Croat Initiative (NHI). The local NHI Presidency believes that the local HDZ had initiated the replacement of the municipal officials because of their efforts towards the return of displaced people and refugees, the NHI Presidency said in a statement sent to Hina. The NHI Presidency also believes that the HDZ's intention is to surrender the Brcko-Ravne municipality to Republika Srpska. In a letter sent to Deputy High Representative Jacques Klein, the party presidency accuses Ivica Filipovic, a high BH Federation Army officer, of having conducted the campaign against the replaced municipal officials. The party also accuses Filipovic of "having advocated the withdrawal of Croats from the defence lines of Brcko at the beginning of 1994". (hina) mm rml