INT COMMUNITY OFFICIALS CONDEMN INCIDENTS IN BUGOJNO, STOLAC

MOSTAR, Aug 19 (Hina) - Officials of international associations in the Mostar area on Tuesday most strongly condemned the incidents which late last week took place in Bugojno, where Croat houses were mined, and in Stolac, where a bus which brought Bosniak (Muslim) refugees to visit their hometown was stoned. The head of the Mostar office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Edward Joseph, told reporters he was concerned over the events in Bugojno and Stolac. Human rights in those two towns had been seriously violated, he said. UNHCR spokeswoman in Mostar Ariane Quentier said she was "very concerned" about the course of events in Bugojno since that town, like Stolac, was included in a test refugee-return programme. Bosniak returnees who today continued to repair their houses in Stolac had not been molested neither over the weekend nor later, Quentier said. On Wednesday, she would hold talks in Bugojno on the return of Croats there with representatives of local Bosniak authorities and displaced Bosniak Croats, she added. According to the head of the international high representative's regional office in Mostar, Martin Garrod, several "disturbing incidents" had taken place in Stolac last Saturday. About noon, a group of people at a party drank excessively and roasted a pig on the grounds of a former mosque, he said, adding that the same day, several Bosniak visitors were attacked and injured by Croat youths. Furthermore, Garrod said, that Saturday, "11 Bosniak policemen reported for work (in Stolac), but were not welcomed as was agreed". Six Bosniak policemen returned to Mostar, he said, while five stayed in Stolac in the house of the deputy police head. The Stolac incidents, like others in delicate areas, had very serious consequences, said Garrod, but did not want to comment on the mining of Croat houses in Bugojno, since the town was not under his competence. (hina) ha jn 191439 MET aug 97