FEDERATION HEADS VISIT MOSTAR TO URGE RETURN OF REFUGEES

( Editorial: --> 2794 ) MOSTAR, March 27 (Hina) - The President and Vice-President of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (FBH), Ejup Ganic and Vladimir Soljic, held a meeting in Mostar on Friday with local Croat and Bosniak (Muslim) officials to examine disagreements in bringing a refugee return plan to the town's six municipalities. Last week the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton government accepted a return plan in only eight of the canton's 14 municipalities, because an agreement on return in Mostar's six municipalities had not been reached. Three of Mostar's municipalities have a Croat majority, while Bosniaks have a majority in the other three. At the beginning of Friday's meeting, which was open to journalists, Ganic and Soljic stressed that the right of return had to be made possible for all people on the basis of Annex 7 of the Dayton agreement. Ganic stressed the importance of return in cantons with a special regime of administration - Herzegovina-Neretva and Central Bosnia, saying these two cantons were the foundation of the Croat-Muslim Federation. Both Croats and Muslims share power in the two cantons based on a pre-war parity between the nationalities. The Federation President considered individual incidents should not be an obstruction to return. Soljic said return is a process which "no one could prevent". The Federation Vice-President emphasised that the "Croat side has no doubt that Croats will return to their areas of the FBH and if possible (throughout all of) Bosnia-Herzegovina". The main aim is to establish the national structure of the population in Bosnia as it was before the war, Soljic added. Local Croat and Bosniak officials from the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and the town of Mostar continued talks behind closed doors. (Hina) mb /jn 271505 MET mar 98