IFOR COMMANDER DOES NOT KNOW HOW MLADIC CROSSED INTO SERBIA

SARAJEVO, May 22 (Hina) - The commander of IFOR ground troops in Bosnia, Gen. Michael Walker, said on Wednesday that he was pleased with cooperation with military commanders of the three parties in Bosnia. Walker told a press conference at NATO headquarters in the Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza that some more areas would soon be approved for deployment of military forces of the three sides and that IFOR troops would sieze and destroy all weapons found outside designated storage areas. On Tuesday, the British general had chaired a meeting of the joint military commission involving Generals Rasim Delic of the Bosnian army, Zivko Budimir of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and Zdravko Tolimir of the Serb army. They agreed to establish radio links between their headquarters to ensure permanent communication and full cooperation. Delic demanded that the question of a Serb representative on the joint military commission be finally solved. Under the Dayton peace agreement, all the three sides should be represented by their respective chief commanders but Serb commander Gen. Ratko Mladic has been represented by one of his deputies because international mediators refuse contacts with war crimes suspects. A decision on whether direct action should be taken to arrest a war crimes suspect must be taken by the NATO supreme command, Walker said, adding that troops under his command were under clear orders to detain any war crimes suspect if they came across one while performing their regular duties. Walker said that he did not know how Mladic had reached Belgrade to attend the funeral on Tuesday of his close aide, Djordje Djukic, who had been released on parole by the Hague-based international war crimes tribunal a month ago due to deteriorated health condition. (hina) vm jn 221554 MET may 96