INTIMIDATION OF OPPOSITION REPESENTATIVES IN W. BOSNIA CONTINUES

SARAJEVO, 21 Aug (Hina) - The UN Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina was worried about frequent reports on the intimidation of representatives and supporters of opposition parties in the Bihac area (western Bosnia). UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko on Wednesday stated that the incidents could influence the outcome of the general election process. There had been eight bomb attacks on opposition representatives in western Bosnia and the international police held that all those incidents had been politically motivated, Ivanko said. #L# Shells and explosive had been used in the attacks, Ivanko said, adding his organisation had received a letter by the local opposition parties accusing nine policemen and eight supporters of the leading Party of Democratic Action (SDA) of participation in the intimidation of people, particularly in Cazin, Ivanko said. According to UN observers in western Bosnia, there is great probability that intimidation will continue until the elections. That would have considerable consequences for the election process since the majority of supporters of opposition parties would decide not to take part in the elections for the sake of their own safety, Ivanko stressed. Ivanko further warned that the terror against opposition representatives in Republika Srpska had increased as well. A director from Teslic who is a member of one of opposition parties had been replaced by a man from the Serb Democratic Party (SDS). Thirty members of special police forces had been sent to Teslic, without any explanation. Some ten days ago, workers in a factory in Teslic entered a fight with local police, after which the leading party tried to replace the director of the firm. Ivanko recalled that the foreign ministers of the two entities had agreed last week to secure all necessary conditions for the implementation of free elections, but local police authorities were still acting completely contrary to the agreement. (hina) rm 211351 MET aug 96