INT REPS WELCOME ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT POLICE IN MOSTAR

MOSTAR, July 22 (Hina) - Representatives of international organizations operating in the south-east of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday held a press conference at which they assessed the establishment of six police departments and police forces in the central zone of Mostar as a big step forward in the implementation of the peace process in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton. The establishment of the police in Mostar is a significant step towards the normalization of living, Dragan Gasic, spokesman for the international community high representative's office in Mostar, told reporters. The high representative's deputy, Gerd Wagner, would visit Mostar tomorrow, Gasic announced, for talks with representatives of authorities who established the Mostar Association of Croat Municipalities, to focus on the Association's activity. Gasic asserted the international community does not and shall not recognize the association of municipalities. Its establishment and activity is a manipulation and a legal farce, he said. The establishment of a joint police in Mostar and the Herzegovina- Neretva Canton was supported by Edward Joseph, the head of the Mostar Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well. UN spokeswoman Kelly Moore confirmed that policemen in Mostar began working yesterday, according to plan. (hina) ha 221300 MET jul 97