SARAJEVO GOVT CAUTIOUS ABOUT NEWS ON KARADZIC'S REMOVAL

SARAJEVO, 19 May (Hina) - The office of the Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic on Sunday issued a statement saying that it is still early to give any political estimates regarding the alleged resignation of the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. 'The circumstances of Karadzic's removal from the political scene are still obscure. Reports we have been receiving are still contradictory and there are signs that the news about his removal is only a political manoeuvre', the statement said. The stance of the Bosnian government is clear: There is only one place Karadzic and Mladic could go to - The Hague, the statement said. A member of the Bosnian Presidency, Mirko Pejanovic, who is also the head of the Serb Civic Council in Bosnia-Herzegovina, said that the information, if it was true, could mark the beginning of a a new process in the establishment of peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina. (hina) rm 191913 MET may 96