KARADZIC SUPPORTERS BANNED FROM ENTERING BANJA LUKA

SARAJEVO, Sept 8 (Hina) - Supporters of Bosnian Serb hardliners, loyal to their war-time leader and indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, were banned on Monday from entering the northwestern town of Banja Luka for a planned mass rally. The Office of the international High Representative to Bosnia- Herzegovina said in a statement that the decision had been made after an assessment that followers of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) had been sent to Banja Luka to provoke incidents that would probably have caused violence. The decision was made by the first deputy to the High Representative, Jacques Klein, who left for Banja Luka in the evening and would stay there until the situation has normalised. NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) troops were ordered to turn away all passengers and vehicles that may represent a threat to peace and security. NATO forces were authorised to use all means at their disposal to ensure compliance with the ban. The Office of the High Representative warned that local police in Banja Luka had found that persons who had arrived in the town in the last 24 hours possessed weapons, including hand grenades, and false documents. The SFOR command in Sarajevo said in a statement that SFOR was in contact with local authorities and that it supported the search of buses for weapons to prevent the entry into Banja Luka of all those who were not complying with the established rules. Some demonstrators travelling to Banja Luka would not allow their vehicles to be searched and threw stones at SFOR personnel, as was the case in Brcko. SFOR troops learnt that demonstrators had been paid 200 German marks each to attend a rally in Banja Luka, the stronghold of Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic. About 30 buses were stopped at Derventa and another 25 at Modrica. Despite attempts at provocation, no one was injured. The rally, dubbed "the assembly of Serb unity", was held in the centre of Banja Luka. It was addressed by the Serb member of the Bosnian collective presidency and close aide to Karadzic, Momcilo Krajisnik, prime minister Gojko Klickovic and speaker of the dissolved parliament Dragan Kalinic. They accused president Biljana Plavsic of treason and of attempting to divide the Serb entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina. (hina) vm 082336 MET sep 97