INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS CONDEMN ATTACK ON CROATS IN TRAVNIK

( Vidi vijest: 6394 ) SARAJEVO, Oct 28 (Hina) - Representatives of international organisations in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday condemned the killing of one and the wounding of two other Croats in the village of Nula near Travnik on Sunday. Spokesman for the international High Representative, Simon Haselock, said this crime deserved the harshest possible condemnation, stressing that it had evidently been an act aimed at upsetting the residents and make difficult the return of displaced persons. Haselock relayed Westendorp's call upon citizens to show restraint in order to prevent the growing of tension. Spokesman for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Johan Verhayden, said Tuesday that the OSCE mission denounced the killing of Croat civilians, stressing that it was necessary to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances under which the crime had taken place. UN spokesman Liam McDowell reiterated that it was still too early to jump to conclusions whether the perpetrators were common robbers or had had political motives. He stressed that the political repercussions of this event were very serious. This murder had clear political consequences, primarily on the return on refugees, McDowell said. The Travnik police which had searched for the perpetrators on Sunday evening had apprehended three men at one of the check- points. The arrested were in illegal possession of weapons, but were released later on due to the lack of evidence that they had anything to do with the killing. (hina) lm 281555 MET oct 97