BRAC, Aug 1 (Hina) - After visiting fire sites on the Croatian islands of Hvar, Brac and Bisevo on Friday, Premier Ivica Racan said that it was unnecessary 'to fan political flames' now when there were disastrous fires.
BRAC, Aug 1 (Hina) - After visiting fire sites on the Croatian
islands of Hvar, Brac and Bisevo on Friday, Premier Ivica Racan said
that it was unnecessary 'to fan political flames' now when there
were disastrous fires. #L#
After his tour to the fire-hit areas, Racan told reporters at the
local airport on Brac that he was satisfied with the fact that
blazes on Hvar and Brac had been contained and the fire on Bisevo had
been extinguished.
Responding to statements of some politicians, Racan said the fires
were indeed disastrous and it was unnecessary 'to add fuel of
political wrangling'.
Racan said that of all the established causes of fires, 80 percent
accounted for human negligence, and therefore it was very important
to inform the population about the matter.
Reminding that six arsonists have to date been arrested, Racan said
that those who deliberately set fires should be properly punished.
Commenting to reporters' remark that the public had an impression
that a higher number of forest fires had been acts of arson, Premier
said that the above-mentioned figure, namely 80 percent, referred
to the established causes and that there was no real evidence on
concerted action of arsonists.
This season's fires should teach us a lesson, although I assess that
authorities have promptly reacted, and crews of fire-fighting
planes and helicopters have done their job even above the
professional standards, the premier added.
According to Racan, this time again it has been evident that co-
ordination between fire-fighting units, army troops, local
communities and the Croatian Forests company has biggest problems,
and he described the organisation on the ground as poor.
The chief fire commander in the interior ministry, Mladen Jurin,
said that in the recent days even 40 fires had been registered from
Brijuni to Dubrovnik, along the Croatian coast.
Over 3,000 hectares of pine forests, olives, vineyards, lavenders
and other plants have been destroyed by the flames on Brac, Hvar and
Bisevo. More than 1,500 fire-fighters and army troops have been
engaged in the battle against flames.
Fortunately, there have been no injuries in the accidents, and only
two old abandoned cottages on Bisevo were burnt. No other housing
facilities were damaged, Jurin added.
The Croatian army's (HV) chief-of-staff, Josip Lucic, said that
special units within the HV, in charge of fighting against fires,
were prepared very well, and they were staying along the coast as
reserve troops.
About 500 soldiers of those units are assisting in efforts to put
fires on central Dalmatian islands out, Lucic said.
Interior Minister Sime Lucin, too, toured the fire sites on
Friday.
(hina) ms sb