CRISIS IN SERB-HELD BOSNIA ESCALATING

PALE, July 2 (Hina) - The command of the NATO-led peace Stabilisation Force (SFOR) decided Tuesday night to deploy an additional number of troops in the Serb-controlled Banja Luka area of northwest Bosnia- Herzegovina. Last night we received reports of a possible threat to security in the Banja Luka area and therefore we established a military presence there to secure peace, SFOR spokesman Chris Riley told a news conference in the Serb stronghold of Pale, east of Sarajevo, on Wednesday. Riley did not specify the number of soldiers but confirmed that besides personnel military hardware, mainly various vehicles and armoured personnel carriers, had also been deployed. They belong to the multinational division Southwest whose command is stationed in the village of Ramici outside Banja Luka. Riley could not confirm a report that SFOR troops were deployed in Banja Luka to prevent the arrival of armed groups that could pose a threat to Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic. We are in close contact with Bosnian Serb officials but it is clear that the resolution of the current situation is a matter of their responsibility, Riley said, adding that the SFOR command demanded that the present crisis in the Serb entity be resolved in a peaceful way. Spokesman for the Office of the High Representative Simon Haselock said that his office maintained contacts with Bosnian Serb officials but declined to comment on the contents of talks conducted mainly through Deputy High Representative Michael Steiner. We expect political differences to be solved in a democratic way, Haselock said, describing the situation in the Serb entity as a constitutional crisis that should be solved through relevant institutions such as the Constitutional Court. UN mission spokesman Alexander Ivanko said that the UN supported Plavsic as legally elected president of the Serb Republic. Now we are in a situation when a serious departure from provisions of the Dayton peace agreement is evident and the Serb authorities are responsible for that, Ivanko said. We are particularly concerned about the implementation of those parts of the agreement which fall within the UN mandate, particularly the restructuring of the police force and the setting up of checkpoints on roads, Ivanko said, alluding to Bosnian Serb Interior Minister Dragan Kijac and politicians supporting him in his conflict with Plavsic. Ivanko warned Bosnian Serbs that failure to implement the peace agreement would directly affect their lives and further aggravate their already difficult situation because the international community would withhold economic and financial aid. (hina) vm 021500 MET jul 97