MOSTAR BISHOP CONDEMNS DESECRATION OF MUSLIM GRAVES

( Editorial: --> 1054 ) MOSTAR, 26 Dec (Hina/Habena) - Mostar Mufti, Haji Seid Smajkic, on Thursday sent a message to Mostar Bishop Ratko Peric, saying that on 23 December three young men had destroyed between 23 and 30 tombstones at the Muslim cemetery in Sinovac, in the Croat- controlled part of Mostar. According to a statement from the Catholic Information Office in Mostar, Smajkic said that by destroying the tombstones the young men were expressing hatred even towards Bosniaks who had been dead for a long time. Especially painful was the fact that the incident had happened before Christmas and that it possibly had been caused by religious motives, Smajkic said. Smajkic said he had informed some domestic and foreign institutions about the incident. Bishop Peric sent his secretary to police to inquire about the incident. His secretary visited the cemetery together with representatives of Mostar police and the International Police Task Force (IPTF). It was established that five tombstones were turned over, not 23 to 30, as Mufti Smajkic had said, the statement said. At a mass held in Mostar cathedral, Bishop Peric expressed regret over the desecration of the graves. "No true believer would do such a thing out of religious motives," Peric said, calling for respect for values of people with different thinking and religion. (hina) rm 262107 MET dec 97