COMMEMORATIVE MASS SERVED FOR HELICOPTER CRASH VICTIMS

SARAJEVO, Sept 20 (Hina) - A commemorative mass for 12 international community officials killed in a helicopter accident in central Bosnia-Herzegovina on 17 September was served in Sarajevo on Saturday. The mass was served by the archbishop of BH, cardinal Vinko Puljic, and curates of the NATO-led Stabilization Force's German and U.S. units, Herman Shliker and Jon Jekson respectively. Cardinal Puljic conveyed his condolences to all who suffered as a consequence of the tragic accident. The international high representative for BH, Carlos Westendorp, addressed the families of the killed, saying the international community shared their loss, their pain, their rage and their pride in what the killed officials had achieved. BH Foreign Minister Jadranko Prlic praised the officials for all they had done to preserve peace in BH. German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, also present, said the people who were killed had worked for the highest goals. "We grieve for them and will not forget them", he said. "They did a lot for peace in BH, but for the ultimate recovery of this country, its peoples will have to work a lot more, alongside the international community", Kinkel said. The U.S. president's special envoy, Robert Gelbard, pointed out the killed officials would be remembered forever. Their mission would not be allowed to fail, he said. The U.N. secretary general's special representative, Kai Eide, expressed the deepest condolences to the families of the killed officials. They had given their lives to build peace, the "noblest goal in the world", he pointed out. Ambassadors of Great Britain and Poland, Charles Crawford and Jan Tombinski, also attended the commemoration, alongside the NATO commander for Europe, Wesley Clark, SFOR commander Eric Shinseki, Bosnia's highest officials, Alija Izetbegovic, Kresimir Zubak, Haris Silajdzic, and numerous other authority officials of BH and the Bosnian Federation. The remains of the 12 officials killed in the helicopter accident will leave BH today. (hina) ha 201611 MET sep 97