POLICE UNIFORM INSIGNIA CAUSES FEUD IN LIVNO CANTON

( Editorial: --> 2505 ) SARAJEVO, May 8 (Hina) - Bosnian Federation Interior Minister Mehmed Zilic has called for the annulment of an agreement on the restructuring of police in the Livno Canton, which was signed on April 28 in the presence of senior international officials. In an open letter addressed to international High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Carlos Westendorp, Zilic underlined that the agreement had been signed without consultations with legitimate Bosniak (Muslim) canton representatives, nor with him as a federal minister. Zilic requested that the ceremonial presentation of the canton police, scheduled for May 9 in Livno, be postponed until an agreement with Bosniak representatives in the canton and him as a Muslim-Croat Federation minister was reached. Zilic also requested that single-nation insignia be removed from police uniforms. As announced by UN spokesman in Sarajevo, Alexander Ivanko, the Herzeg-Bosnian Canton police is to wear caps with the Bosnian Federation coat-of-arms and sleeves with canton insignia and the Croat coat-of-arms. Ivanko said the UN held that the canton coat-of-arms should be replaced by letters spelling out the name of the canton, but added that this issue should be solved "at a higher level". In order to overcome the existing situation, Zilic requested in the letter that single-nation police insignia also be removed from canton police uniforms and that the national structure of the police be parallel with the 1991 population census. Zilic also forwarded his letter to the UN Mission head in Bosnia- Herzegovina, Elizabeth Rehn, and International Police Task Force (IPTF) Commissioner Richard Monk. (hina) lm as /mb 081829 MET may 98