THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR MOSTAR INCIDENT SHOULD BE PUNISHED -REPORT

SARAJEVO, Feb 26 (Hina) - Members of the Steering Committee for the implementation of the peace agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina met in Sarajevo on Wednesday with the deputy to the international High Representative, Michael Steiner, to discuss measures for implementing the conclusions of a report on events that had occurred in the southern town of Mostar earlier this month. A 62-page report by an International Police Task Force (IPTF) team who had investigated the February 10 incidents was released at a news conference in Sarajevo on Wednesday. Speaking of the meeting of the Steering Committee, which includes representatives of the big-power Contact Group, spokesman for the High Representative's office Colum Murphy said that the meeting was expected to provide full political support for demands for the dismissal from office and prosecution of police officers responsible for the incidents as well as for measures to stablize the situation in the Moslem-Croat Federation. We expect that the perpetrators will be dismissed from office and arrested today, Murhpy said, but declined to say what steps would be taken should that demand not be respected. UN mission chief Kai Aide issued a special statement demanding the urgent punishment of the police officers responsible for the incidents in Mostar. Steiner said on Tuesday night that the report by the independent team of investigators undboubtedly showed that police commanders in both Moslem- held east and Croat-controlled west Mostar had acted unprofessionally and therefore had to be replaced. The office of the Croat member of Bosnia-Herzegovina's collective presidency, Kresimir Zubak, said in a statement Tuesday night that the Croat side, although not rejecting parts of the report concerning the tragic incident itself, found the IPTF report to be incomplete because it covered only the period of the confrontation at around 14.00 hours on the day of the incident. Such a report was not in line with provisions of the Decisions on Mostar, passed in Sarajevo on February 12, under which all relevant facts should be established and those reponsible for the events that happened before and after the incident should be identified, the statement said. UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko said on Wednesday that after the investigation, the international community would analyze the events that preceded the February 10 incidents, but he did not specify when this would be done. International police commissioner Robert Wasserman said on Wednesday that the investigation had been conducted by nine professional police officers with long experience in this kind of operations and that all relevant standards had been respected. Presenting the report on the incident which left one person killed and at least 20 injured, Wasserman said that Croat police in west Mostar had violated all norms of professional conduct on February 10. He stressed that events that followed the incident showed that the security of civilians was equally threatened in both sections of the town. It is regrettable that the Federation authorities in Mostar are unable to secure law and order in the town and that it has to be done by SFOR instead, spokesman for the NATO-led Stabilitzation Force Tony White said in Sarajevo. White said that the situation in Mostar was currently calm, noting that NATO troops continued increased patrols. In the last 24 hours a number of illegal checkpoints had been removed on both sides of the Neretva river, he added. The IPTF report contains sketches and photographs showing several west-Mostar policemen in plaintclothes and two in uniform opening fire at a crowd of people retreating to the eastern part of town, killing one and wounding 20 persons. Wasserman said that the use of force on February 10 was in violation of the law and all rules of police service. (hina) vm jn 261517 MET feb 97