SARAJEVO, 7 Jan (Hina) - A hearing of representatives of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb entity on the status of the northern Bosnian town of Brcko will start in Rome tomorrow, said Colum Murphy, spokesman
for the international peace coordinator in Bosnia, in Sarajevo on Tuesday.
SARAJEVO, 7 Jan (Hina) - A hearing of representatives of the
Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb entity on the
status of the northern Bosnian town of Brcko will start in Rome
tomorrow, said Colum Murphy, spokesman for the international peace
coordinator in Bosnia, in Sarajevo on Tuesday. #L#
Three arbiters will hear arguments of both sides and the
procedure could last from three to four days, Murphy said.
Chief arbiter Roberts Owen earlier made a decision to extend
the deadline for the completion of the arbitration procedure until
15 February.
According to the Dayton agreement, the arbitration commission
was to decide to which side Brcko will be allocated a year after
the signing of the peace agreement at the latest.
According to unofficial information, both the Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska have prepared extensive
documentation so as to back their claims for the port and town of
Brcko.
The Federation authorities have prepared a White Book on Brcko
which will be presented in Rome.
We expect that Brcko will be allocated to the Federation. From
the legal point of view, any other decision could not be made, said
Mate Tadic, Federation's Justice Minister.
What arguments the Serb side will present in Rome remains a
secret. During his last visit to Brcko, Bosnian Serb army Chief-of-
Staff Pero Colic said that the town belonged 'to Serbs only and no
one else', adding that the town would be defended by weapons if
necessary.
The exchange of war threats was one of the reasons which
prompted NATO secretary general Javier Solana and NATO force
commander in Europe George Joulwan to meet last week with members
of the Bosnian presidency and discuss the problem.
We have received assurances from Presidency members that the
arbitration commission's decision would be respected whatever it
may be, Solana told reporters.
The demographic and national structure of Brcko has been
changed through forced settlement of Serbs. Before the war, Croats
and Muslims made the majority population in Brcko.
Some 30,000 Serbs arrived in the area of Brcko after the
reintegration of Serb-held Sarajevo suburbs into the Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The town of Brcko links the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina
to international river and railway communication routes.
The town is also a link between the western part of Republika
Srpska and its eastern parts.
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