BOSNIAKS GIVEN AUTHORITY IN SREBRENICA

( Editorial: --> 9353 ) SARAJEVO, March 13 (Hina) - It was decided with arbitration by the Office of the High Representative that the majority of senior offices in the Srebrenica municipality would go to Bosniaks. The head of the National Commission for Confirming Election Results in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Craig Jennes, announced in Sarajevo on Friday that a Bosniak would be named as president of the municipal council, which is also the mayoral position. A Bosniak would also be instated as municipal council secretary and a Serb would be named as president of the municipal government. The municipal government has seven positions, of which four went to the Bosniaks and three to the Serbs. After the fall of Srebrenica into Bosnian Serbs hands in the summer of 1995, all Bosniaks were expelled, of which 8,000 are listed as missing even though Serb forces most likely killed them. Before the war, the Srebrenica population was mainly Bosniak and during its occupation it was a UN safe haven. Srebrenica is the only municipality in the Bosnian Serb entity in which a coalition with the Muslim Democratic Action Party (SDA) convincingly won in last year's elections but Serbs refused to acknowledge the election results until now. Jennes nevertheless expressed his conviction that the arbitrated decision would be entirely implemented. The constituent session of the municipal council has been announced for 24 March. (hina) jn mrb/rm 131650 MET mar 98