BOSNIAN SERBS THREATEN WAR IF THEY LOSE BRCKO

SARAJEVO, Jan 9 (Hina) - Senior Serb entity officials On Thursday rejected in advance any ruling whereby the Brcko area would be adjudged to the Bosnian Federation. Speaking at a rally organised in Brcko to mark the fifth anniversary of the Serb Republic's secession from Bosnia- Herzegovina, Biljana Plavsic said that Brcko "should not be regarded as disputable" since it linked the two parts of the Serb Republic. Bosnian Presidency member Momcilo Krajisnik said he would not agree to "any settlement that could jeopardise the survival of Republika Srpska." The Serbs organised a splashy rally in Brcko precisely at the moment when the Brcko arbitration commission was holding a hearing in Rome to decide on the fate of this northern-Bosnian town. Predominantly populated by Moslems and Croats before 1991, the town's ethnic structure was changed during the war by the forcible expulsion of most Croats and Moslems and the arrival of 30,000 Serbs. While Serbs see Brcko as the bridge between the western and eastern parts of their entity, the Federation regards it as a link to international river and rail communications. Arbiters Roberts Owen, Cazim Sadikovic and Vitomir Popovic are to decide on the territorial status of the Brcko area by February 15, even though the Dayton Agreement stipulated a one-year deadline for this decision. (hina) mm as 091901 MET jan 97