CRO DEFENSE COUNCIL FORWARDS LETTER OF PROTEST TO IFOR

GLAMOC, June 1 (Hina) - Some 70 Serb civilians were on Saturday seen in the area of Turska Kosa, in an area under control of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO), while they were searching the terrain for their relatives who had been killed in heavy battles in Glamoc, head of the Croat Republic of Herzeg-Bosnian Office for the Exchange of Detained and Missing Persons, Vlado Pusic, said. Accompanying the Serb civilians were Ukrainian IFOR troops. #L# Police officers from Glamoc attempted to approach the scene, but were prevented from doing so by IFOR troops situated in Glamoc, who blocked the road with transport vehicles. As neither the Serb side nor IFOR were authorized by the Croat Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia for such activities, IFOR was asked to remove the Serbs from the territory so as to prevent any incidents. After negotiations, it was agreed that the Serb civilians retreat by 18.00 hours, which they did. Pusic stressed that the Ukrainian IFOR troops had violated the Dayton Agreement with such activities, despite their later willingness to cooperate, especially because the Croat side had the need to sanitize the territory on the Serb side, but had not been permitted by the Serb authorities to do so. Pusic added that HVO General Ivan Kolak had forwarded a letter of protest to IFOR for violating the Dayton accords, in which he had said that such activities could not be done without the consent of the side which was doing the sanitation and the side which was controlling the territory. (hina) lm 012124 MET jun 96