$ SARAJEVO, March 13 (Hina) - Bosnian Croat police from Kiseljak once again attempted to enter the Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza and, once again, failed. Their attempt was thwarted by the Moslem policemen.
ILIDZA
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SARAJEVO, March 13 (Hina) - Bosnian Croat police from Kiseljak
once again attempted to enter the Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza and,
once again, failed. Their attempt was thwarted by the Moslem
policemen. #L#
Nine Croat policemen headed by Kiseljak Police
superintendent Mladen Tolo arrived in Ilidza at 1700 hours
Wednesday wearing blue uniforms and insignia "The Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Federal Police" on their sleeves.
Tolo and the international police commissioner, Peter
Fitzgerald, held one-hour talks with the Bosniac (Moslem) police
commander in Ilidza.
The Croat policemen were, once again, asked to wear green
uniforms or replace their blue ones with civilian clothes, which
Tolo categorically refused.
"Despite Michael Steiner's orders, we are returning to
Kiseljak. If there is no federal police, there can be no
Federation either," Tolo said after the meeting, visibly angered.
The Bosniac police had refused to accept the Croat
representatives as partners and allies, Tolo said, recalling that
it was not green uniforms but the blue ones that were required by
the Bosnian Interior Affairs Act. This made the Moslem request
even more absurd, he added.
Fitzgerald described the incident as very serious and called
the Moslem side responsible, adding that he would inform the
Office of the U.N. High Representative for the implementation of
the peace agreement and the U.N. Secretary-General's special
envoy in Bosnia-Herzegovina Igbal Riza about the incident.
Interior Minister of the Bosnian Federation, Avdo Hebib, his
deputy Jozo Leutar, Sarajevo and Kiseljak Police superintendents
and IFOR General Michael Walker met this morning in Sarajevo for
talks. The meeting was chaired by the High Commissioner's deputy,
Michael Steiner. The participants in the talks agreed that the
Croat police officers would enter Ilidza today and begin
performing their duties. The participants in the meeting also
agreed that the Croat police would be wearing blue uniforms.
(hina) lm mm
132121 MET mar 96