FEDERATION FORUM SESSION BREAKS UP OVER AGENDA

MOSTAR, Dec 13 (Hina) - The Bosnian Federation Forum broke up on Friday afternoon after several hours of fruitless debate on the agenda. The participants did, however, agree to continue the session next week in Sarajevo. According to Federation President Kresimir Zubak, the Croatian side had not been notified of the agenda. He explained that the Forum was to have convened a month ago to discuss the implementation of measures agreed at a meeting held in August. "The Croatian side assumed this would be the first item on today's agenda," Zubak said. "But today, the initiative went in the opposite direction - to analyse the situation in Mostar and the Herzegovina canton," Zubak said. This was unacceptable to the Croatian side because of the political atmosphere created around the Mostar issue by Sarajevo media and some international media as well. The proper approach, according to Zubak, would be to discuss problems in Sarajevo, Vares and Bugojno at the same time, particularly as the domestic and international public lacked information on these issues. According to Federation Vice-President Ejup Ganic, today's meeting of the Federation Forum established that the "processes taking place in Mostar directly jeopardised the Dayton Agreements." Deputy to the international peace coordinator, Michael Steiner, said the international community was concerned over evictions in Mostar. He added that evictions had also been registered in Bugojno, Vares, Sarajevo. A special task group consisting of international police, UNHCR, OSCE and Garrod's staff would be appointed to report on any future evictions in Mostar, Steiner announced. Hailing the removal of Herzeg-Bosnian emblems and insignia from the Mostar county court building, where the city authority is to be based, Steiner stressed the necessity for transferring competence from Herzeg-Bosnian and Bosnian Republic bodies onto Federal institutions, in accordance with the Federal Constitution. US special envoy to the Bosnian Federation, Robert Beecrott, said the United States was ready to apply maximum pressure to ensure the functioning of the Fedeation. Beecrott, who is deputising for John Kornblum, announced a tripartite meeting involving Zubak, Izetbegovic and Karadzic in Sarajevo on Saturday. (hina) jn as 131945 MET dec 96