BOSNIAN SERBS WITHDRAW FROM ARBITRATION FOR BRCKO

SARAJEVO, Dec 1 (Hina) - Bosnian Serb authorities have decided to boycott an arbitration commission for the final status of the town and port of Brcko on the Sava river (northern Bosnia-Herzegovina). The Serb-run Pale radio reported on Sunday that the premier of (Bosnian Serb) Pale government, Gojko Klickovic had informed the international mediator Roberts Owen, chairman of the arbitration established under the 1995 Dayton peace accords, of the withdrawal of Bosnian Serb representatives from the arbitration procedures. Klickovic also informed Owen of the cancellation of appointment of Serbs in the arbitration commission. He accused the U.S. diplomat Owen of preparing a settlement to the Brcko issue that "is to the detriment of legal and vital interests of the republic of Srpska." He warned that decisions to be made by the American diplomat and Cazim Sadikovic, an arbitration's member representing the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, "will have no legal force and will not be obligatory for the republic of Srpska." Klickovic insisted that the problem, which was to be solved by arbitration, did not concern the town of Brcko but only a section of the inter-entity boundary in the area in question. He described an international administration, the introduction of which was indirectly announced, as unacceptable to the Bosnian Serb side. The Dayton peace agreements envisaged that the arbitration procedure would be ended by December 14, 1996. But Owen asked for a two-month-long prolongation of the deadline, which was accepted by the Croat-Moslem Federation. According to some indications, the wide area of Brcko will be under an international administration in next ten years. The chief administration will be an American with three deputies representing each constituent nation - Moslems, Croats and Serbs - in Bosnia- Herzegovina. (hina) mš 011805 MET dec 96