ZAGREB, June 20 (Hina) - The project of employing mine victims at the Croatian Mine Centre (HCR), which is endorsed by the Norwegian government with 160,000 kuna (approx. US$1,869), was presented today at a news conference by HRC
director Damir Gorseta, Norwegian Ambassador Knut Morkved and Foreign Ministry advisor for anti-mine action, Dijana Plesina. The project is in the test phase and other countries have been asked to assist due to a lack of funds, Gorseta said. Morkved expressed satisfaction with the project and stressed his government's assistance for various humanitarian projects was 50 million kuna last year (about US$6 million) last year, and has doubled this year. He announced that by the end of the year representatives of one of the biggest non-government organisations Norwegian People's Aid" will be arriving in Croatia to tackle anti-mine issues. Besides direct assistance to mine victims, planned are projects
ZAGREB, June 20 (Hina) - The project of employing mine victims at
the Croatian Mine Centre (HCR), which is endorsed by the Norwegian
government with 160,000 kuna (approx. US$1,869), was presented
today at a news conference by HRC director Damir Gorseta, Norwegian
Ambassador Knut Morkved and Foreign Ministry advisor for anti-mine
action, Dijana Plesina.
The project is in the test phase and other countries have been asked
to assist due to a lack of funds, Gorseta said.
Morkved expressed satisfaction with the project and stressed his
government's assistance for various humanitarian projects was 50
million kuna last year (about US$6 million) last year, and has
doubled this year.
He announced that by the end of the year representatives of one of
the biggest non-government organisations Norwegian People's Aid"
will be arriving in Croatia to tackle anti-mine issues.
Besides direct assistance to mine victims, planned are projects of
growing health food on mine-cleared areas, Dijana Plesina said.
We need foreign NGOs because besides assistance in mine clearing,
they are helping in the re-socialisation of mine victims and
education of citizens about all the dangers of mines, Plesina
stressed.
Since the beginning of the Homeland Defence War about 1,700 mine
victims have been registered in Croatia. There is abut 4,000 square
kilometres of possibly mined land, of which 400 are established to
be mined.
Estimates say that there are still about 1.2 million mines in
Croatia which should completely be removed by 2010.
(hina) lml sb