ISLAMIC COUNTRIES REAFFIRM SUPPORT FOR BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

SARAJEVO, April 10 (Hina) - The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) held a meeting in Sarajevo on Wednesday and reaffirmed its support for full implementation of the Dayton peace agreement and its willingness to help rebuild Bosnia- Herzegovina. The OIC contact group said in a special statement after the meeting that Islamic countries fully supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina and efforts to preserve it as a democratic and multiethnic state. It called on the international community and peace coordinator Carl Bildt to step up efforts to implement civilian aspects of the peace agreement, proposing firmer coordination between the contact groups of Western and Islamic countries. The OIC countries reaffirmed their support for the project of the Croat-Moslem federation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, stressing that it was the foundation for the reintegration of the whole country. Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic told a press conference that the meeting also reaffirmed the existing consensus among all Islamic countries on Bosnia-Herzegovina. Muratovic said that it was agreed that his country would receive aid through three channels: a donors conference scheduled to take place in Brussels on Friday, a special international mobilizing group and the "Equip and Train" programme which would provide Bosnia-Herzegovina with defence assistance. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati said that his country had decided to provide USD 50 million for reconstruction of Bosnia-Herzegovina this year, stressing that the funds were intended exclusively for reconstruction purposes and not military programmes. Velayati declined to comment on allegations that the US administration had known about Iran's secret arms shipments to Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war. But he said that the assistance that had been provided at that time had reflected the official stance of the OIC and even the UN General Assembly that Bosnia-Herzegovina, as a victim of aggression, had been unjustly punished by the arms embargo. (hina) vm 102044 MET apr 96