IFOR FAILS TO TAKE OVER NINE IRANIANS ARRESTED IN JAJCE

VITEZ/JAJCE, Feb 21 (Hina) - The nine Iranians, who were arrested by the civil police from the Croat-controlled central Bosnian town of Jajce on 17 February, are still in prison in Jajce. According to a member of the Vitez Croatian Defence Council (HVO) command, Major Mato Zeko, the HVO command had informed immediately the international Implementation Force (IFOR) about the arrest and IFOR officials demanded that the Iranians remain in custody. IFOR was to take over the nine Iranians yesterday, but failed to show up in Jajce by Wednesday noon, Zeko said. 'The arrested are treated in a correct manner', Zeko said. The nine Iranians arrived in Bosnia 15 days ago. Three of them are professors of Islamic philosophy and two are merchants. The group also includes a student of music, a student of architecture, a doctor and an expert on calligraphy. The group was arrested at a check-point last Saturday. Seven of them were travelling by bus on the Tesanj-Bihac bus line, while the other two were travelling in a field vehicle behind the bus. 'This is obviously not an armed Mujahedeen group, but it had not been announced by the Bosniac side either. We also do not believe their statements that they had come to Bosnia to organise concerts and plays, because with certain amount of propaganda material, they all had with them technical equipment of highest quality, generally used for intelligence purposes', commander of the Vitez Officer Corps, Drago Dragicevic said. (hina) rm jn 212145 MET feb 96