KARADZIC NAMES PRIME MINISTER.

Byline: Radul Radovanovic Associated Press 

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic elbowed aside a moderate rival Saturday and said he was turning over some powers to an even more extreme nationalist aide.

It was not immediately clear how much power Karadzic was giving to Biljana Plavsic, a vice president of the Serbs' self-declared state of Republika Srpska, but the actions demonstrated that Karadzic still holds power despite a U.N. court's indictment against him on war crimes.

The international community and its top civilian official, Carl Bildt, have refused to deal with Karadzic and for months have tried to sideline him. But Saturday's moves did not appear likely to make it any easier to stitch Bosnia back together after 3-1/2 years of war.

Naming Plavsic to represent him in meetings with international officials, Karadzic said that he needed to concentrate on solving the status of refugees, finding jobs for demobilized soldiers, restarting the economy, rebuilding Serb-held territory and laying its future political and economic foundation.

Plavsic's reputation as a hard-line nationalist makes it unlikely that international officials will find her any easier to deal with. She has worked closely with Karadzic throughout the war and it is unlikely she would advocate policies that he opposes.

Also, Karadzic cannot risk giving up so much authority that he would leave himself open for arrest and transport to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

Karadzic made no mention of stepping down as the republic's president and seemed likely to stay active.

The moves came as Bildt shuttled between Pale, Karadzic's war capital outside Sarajevo, and Belgrade, home of Serbia's powerful President Slobodan Milosevic who now opposes the Bosnian Serb leader.

The Dayton peace accords call for Bosnia to remain one country with two parts - one run by the Serbs, the other by a Muslim-Croat federation. But Karadzic insists his people cannot unite with Bosnian Muslims, their former enemies.

Earlier Saturday, Karadzic jostled out the prime minister of Bosnian Serb territory, Rajko Kasagic, who favored cooperation rather than confrontation with the international community.

Karadzic named 41-year-old Gojko Klickovic to replace the premier and rammed the appointment through a surprise predawn session of his parliament.

Kasagic defied the Bosnian Serb leader when Karadzic fired him earlier in the week. He charged that Karadzic was leading Bosnian Serb territory to isolation and ruin.

In a television interview granted before the vote, Kasagic said he expected that any successor would follow his policies.

Sources in the northwest city of Banja Luka, stronghold of Kasagic and other moderate Bosnian Serb leaders, said Kasagic left the city later for a village in the region because he was concerned for his safety.

Karadzic managed to gather 56 of the 83 deputies of the Bosnian Serb assembly for the predawn meeting, 55 of whom voted for Klickovic, known for his work with Bosnian Serb refugees. One deputy abstained.

SRNA, the Bosnian Serb news agency that is loyal to Karadzic, said that deputies accused Kasagic of ``treason, and doing favors for enemies.''

Announcement of the assembly's vote, withheld by SRNA for about nine hours, seemed timed to embarrass Bildt.

Bildt has been an outspoken supporter of Kasagic, and met with him in Banja Luka the day after Karadzic fired him. The announcement was made just as Bildt was finishing a meeting with Karadzic lieutenants.

Bildt met with Bosnian Serb officials twice Saturday, then traveled to Belgrade. There was no firm word on his schedule, but he likely met with Milosevic. Then, he hurried back to Pale.

Authorities kept reporters far away from Bildt when he returned to Pale.

Plavsic has not been indicted for any war crimes, but it was not immediately clear whether international officials would agree to meet with her.

In Pale, Klickovic said he would go to Banja Luka on Sunday to take up his duties as the new prime minister. It was not clear whether he would be able to carry out that pledge, and if he did, what kind of opposition he would face.

Despite the show of power by Karadzic, cracks in Bosnian Serb unity are evident. Moderates based in Banja Luka may be slowed, but are unlikely to cave in entirely to Karadzic.