BOSNIA BEGINS ELABORATE PREPARATIONS FOR POPE'S VISIT

SARAJEVO, March 5 (Hina) - With his visit to Sarajevo, Pope John Paul II wants to reduce the distance among the people living in Bosnia-Herzegovina and help remove obstacles standing in the way of reconciliation, Assistant Bishop of Sarajevo Pero Sudar said on Wednesday. Speaking in his capacity as the chairman of the Roman Catholic Church committee in charge of organising the reception of the pontiff, Sudar said that all necessary preparations were being made to make the Pope's visit successful. "A tentative schedule of the Pope's visit has already been set and it includes meetings with the clergy from all over Bosnia-Herzegovina, members of the Bishops' Conference, a central mass and a meeting with representatives of other religious communities," Sudar told a new conference in Sarajevo. Sudar said that it was certain that the visit would take place on April 12-13. Neven Tomic, the co-chairman of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Council of Ministers and chairman of the state committee in charge of preparations for the pontiff's visit, said that the Holy Father would meet members of the Bosnian Presidency and that Serb officials were also expected to attend. Federation Prime Minister Edhem Bicakic stressed that "the Pope's visit will be organized in a perfect way." Bicakic said he expected a swift and efficient investigation into the latest attacks on Catholic church buildings in Sarajevo and described the perpetrators as "open enemies of Bosnia-Herzegovina." "The explosive outside the Church of St Joseph (which detonated just after 1 a.m. Tuesday) was planted by experts," the Prime Minister said, adding that the terrorist crimes were a challenge to Sarajevo as an open city. (hina) vm mm 051251 MET mar 97