(20 Nov 1996) English/Nat
The first shipment of American arms to the Muslim-Croat Federation arrived in the Croatian port of Ploce Wednesday, ending a month-long dispute between U-S and Bosnian officials.
The shipment is part of a 400 million (U-S) dollar program to equip and train the Muslim- Croat Federation's army in order to give it equal footing with Bosnian Serbs, who enjoyed an overwhelming advantage in firepower in the Bosnian war.
The "American Condor" cargo ship steamed into the Croatian port of Ploce, an American attempt to level the playing field in the event of another war in Bosnia.
On board: tanks, armoured vehicles, automatic weapons and sophisticated communication equipment that will help train and equip the Muslim-Croat federation.
The delivery of the arms ends a month-long argument between the Americans and the Bosnian government.
The dispute began last month when the U-S government refused to unload the military hardware, reportedly because the Americans were calling for the dismissal of the Bosnian defence minister and his deputy.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the Muslim-Croat Federation President accepted the resignation of the defence minister Vladimir Soljic and has issued an executive order relieving his deputy Hasan Cengic of his duties in the defence ministry.
A spokesman for the NATO-led peace Implementation Force (I-FOR) stressed that the shipment of arms was part of a deal with the United States and the Federation, and had no connection with I-FOR.
SOUNDBITE:
"Behind me you will see a ship passing by that is the American Condor. The destination of this Condor is the port of Ploce. We have an official IFOR statement to make. This ship is part of the training and equip programme. It is a major contribution from the United States for delivering arms and equipment to the Federation. IFOR is fully aware of this programme but I must stress that we are not involved. It is basically a bilateral agreement between countries, governments and the Federation."
SUPERCAPTION: IFOR Press Officer (Belgian Navy) Werner Horemans
The shipment, carrying 100 million (U-S) dollars' worth of military hardware, is the first of a 400 million (U-S) dollar plan to arm and train the Muslim-Croat Federation army.
The Bosnian Serb army had a tremendous firepower advantage during three and a half years of fighting in the Bosnian War.
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