MOSTAR MAYOR ISSUES STATEMENT ON WEDNESDAY INCIDENT

MOSTAR, Sept 12 (Hina) - Mostar Mayor Ivan Prskalo on Thursday stated that he would do everything to avoid conflicts in Mostar. He said that yesterday's incident was "a carefully thought-out way of provoking and raising tension". In his statement Prskalo pointed out that "yesterday, along the Bulevar, towards Rodoc, and especially in the Podhum district, organized groups and individuals of Muslim-Bosniak nationality continually tried to provoke Croats living in that area and in the whole city of Mostar according to a thought-out scenario". "That this was a planned and carefully thought-out way of provoking and raising tension is corroborated by the fact that those groups were accompanied by the local Bosniak TV". "If we bear in mind that the final election rally of the Croatian Democratic Union was taking place in Mostar yesterday, that sick scenario gains even more in its gravity", Prskalo said. "Croats in Mostar need not be alarmed, nor allow their reactions to cause an even more difficult situation", the statement said. "The policy of controlled instability, perpetuated in Mostar for a long time, must be put to a stop, we'll name the perpetrators, and this time we're warning them to stop with their dirty actions". "On behalf of all Mostar Croats, I as the Mayor offer a policy of peace and security to this city and its every citizen. For those who want a different policy, there will be no place in this city", the statement concluded. (hina) ha jn 121410 MET sep 96