SARAJEVO, 26 March (Hina) - The incidents which happened in Mostar on 10 February are only a logical consequence of the lawlessness which has engulfed the city since the beginning of 1997, said a report by the International Police
Task Force (IPTF) and the Coordination Centre for Human Rights. The 16-page report, distributed on Wednesday to reporters in Sarajevo, depicts the situation in Mostar prior to the tragic events of 10 February which happened in Mostar's Liska Street and in which one person was killed and 20 other were wounded. Twenty-eight assaults and cases of intimidation were reported by 10 February. The victims of those assaults were both Bosniacs and Croats, in almost the same proportion, the report said.. The report was made at the explicit request of the Croat side, so that a clear picture of the situation in Mostar and real causes of the open clashes could be obtained.
SARAJEVO, 26 March (Hina) - The incidents which happened in Mostar on 10
February are only a logical consequence of the lawlessness which has
engulfed the city since the beginning of 1997, said a report by the
International Police Task Force (IPTF) and the Coordination Centre for Human
Rights.
The 16-page report, distributed on Wednesday to reporters in Sarajevo,
depicts the situation in Mostar prior to the tragic events of 10 February
which happened in Mostar's Liska Street and in which one person was killed
and 20 other were wounded.
Twenty-eight assaults and cases of intimidation were reported by 10
February. The victims of those assaults were both Bosniacs and Croats, in
almost the same proportion, the report said..
The report was made at the explicit request of the Croat side, so that
a clear picture of the situation in Mostar and real causes of the open
clashes could be obtained. #L#
Already as of 1 January until 10 February, a large number of violent
acts, including assaults and explosions, were reported in Mostar. All that,
along with the violation of human rights and obstruction of freedom of
movement, has contributed to the creation of lawlessness in the whole
region. Residents in both sides of the city, as well as those travelling to
or out of the city, were victims of attacks by criminals, the report said.
About 40 explosions and six evictions of people form their flats were
registered in 41 days in Mostar. The report also points to the fact that
local police did not react the way they were supposed to in most of those
cases.
They acted similarly after the incidents in Liska Street, when persons
who attacked travellers on the Mostar-Sarajevo road were not punished,
although six people, including one police officer, who were involved in the
incident, were arrested.
The IPTF report, not naming any of the sides, concludes that the
incidents were prompted mostly by the non-functioning of local bodies of
authority, but also by statements by political leaders which only increased
the already existing tensions.
Police forces in Mostar have to start protecting all people regardless
of their nationality, the report said. It is especially important to set up
effective bodies of local authority which would be able to control the
situation and remove problems before they get out of hand, the report said.
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261855 MET mar 97