MARTIN GARROD HOLDS TALKS WITH MOSTAR MAYOR, DEPUTY MAYOR

MOSTAR, July 28 (Hina) - After a two-week pause, the Mayor of Mostar, Ivan + Prskalo, his deputy Safet Orucevic, and chief of the Regional Office of the High + Representative for Mostar, Martin Garrod, held a meeting in Mostar on Monday. The talks focused on the preparations for the upcoming meeting of the heads and their deputies of the six Mostar municipalities and about the future + headquarters of the Town Leadership. #L# Asked why the Croat delegation had not responded to the scheduled meeting with the assistant US Secretary for Democratisation of Human Rights, John + Shattuck, during his visit to Mostar, Prskalo said the Bosnian Croat officials had not + boycotted the meeting. Commenting on the recent establishment of the Association of Croat Municipalities, Prskalo stressed that the Croat side had never denied the + existence if six municipalities in the town of Mostar. He explained that the establishment + of the Association was a transitional solution which was necessary for the quality of + the preparations for the upcoming September elections. "We cited our rights under the Dayton Agreement and the Statute of the town of Mostar, so Croats broke no rules," he added. Deputy Mayor Orucevic said the Bosniac side did not support the existence of such a community and did not recognise it. "It is a known fact that Mostar has been organised under the principle of six municipalities and that the international community stimulates the work of the + town' organs of authority and organs of all six municipalities, and this will + probably be the focus of the meeting of heads and their deputies, which we are obliged to hold+ under the Statute of the town of Mostar," Orucevic said. (hina) lm mm 281556 MET jul 97