WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS STILL EMPLOYED IN BOSNIAN SERB POLICE - IPTF

SARAJEVO, Nov 5 (Hina) - International police representatives in Bosnia-Herzegovina possess documents which confirm that four Bosnian Serbs wanted for war crimes by the International Tribunal in The Hague were employed as police officers in Prijedor (north- west Bosnia). UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko said in Sarajevo on Tuesday that the documents had been presented to the chief of police in Prijedor during a meeting on Monday. The chief of police claimed not to know anything about the issue, adding that he had taken up office only two weeks ago, however, Ivanko said he had worked in Prijedor as a special investigator for 15 years. "He not only probably knows every policeman but everybody's uncle," Ivanko said. International police officials expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the Serb side and would discuss the problem again with the authorities in Pale. International Police Task Force (IPTF) chief Peter Fitzgerald has still not received an answer from the Republika Srpska Interior Minister Dragan Kijac concerning the request for the dismissal and extradition of the four police officers suspected of war crimes. Fitzgerald warned Kijac about new violations of commitments. Former chief of police in Prijedor, Simo Drljaca, who had been removed from office at the request of IFOR and international police force two months ago, reappeared in the town. "He continues to control the police and he now holds a senior position within the ministry of internal affairs," Ivanko said. Ivanko added that the UN mission in Bosnia hoped that the last diplomatic mission of the US assistant State Secretary John Shattuck would help to resolve the issue. According to press reports, after his meeting with Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic in Banja Luka, Shattuck had turned special attention to the extradition of war crimes suspects and had warned that is case of the lack of the necessary cooperation, the Serb entity could find itself exposed to new economic and political sanctions. UN representatives in charge of supervising the respect of human rights, warned that several cases of physical abuse where local Serbs had been the victims had been registered in Sarajevo in the past few days. (hina) lm jn 051529 MET nov 96