Mostar Patrols Increased Amid Election Dispute

NATO beefed up patrols around Mostar on Sunday and European leaders mulled pulling out of the divided city after Bosnian Croats refused to respect local election results unconditionally.

International officials fear failure of the electoral process in the southern city will hurt the shaky Muslim-Croat federation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, meant to be a counterweight to the Bosnian Serb government under a U.S.-brokered peace agreement. They also say it sets a bad precedent for national elections next month by suggesting that anyone dissatisfied with results could refuse to recognize them.

Croats have boycotted the City Council, complaining of voting irregularities after a Muslim-led coalition won a narrow majority.

The European Union, which has administered Mostar for two years and tried to unify its Muslims and Croats, had threatened to leave if the Croats didn’t accept June election results by midnight Saturday.

Late Sunday, Croatia’s foreign minister, Mate Granic, said Bosnian Croats proposed to abide by the results until the federation’s constitutional court--which has yet to be formed--rules on their complaints. But this acceptance was reportedly on the condition that there would be no more City Council sessions between Thursday, when a Mostar mayor is to be elected, and any ruling from the constitutional court.

Just two days earlier, the White House announced an agreement on Mostar, the result of a meeting between President Clinton and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, the Bosnian Croats’ patron.