DE-MINING DONOR CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN ZAGREB MONDAY

ZAGREB, Sept 22 (Hina) - A donor conference on the removal of land mines in Croatia, organised by the Croatian Mine Action Centre (HCR) and the World Bank and sponsored by Parliament Speaker Zlatko Tomcic, will be held Monday, September 24, in Zagreb. Around 150 representatives of 25 countries, some 20 international non-government organisations, and representatives of competent ministries, civil societies and state companies will be present at the conference, to discuss mine removal projects, education and help to mine victims. Croatia's mine removal programme, which was adopted by Sabor on October 7, 2000, needs 9.6 billion kuna ($1,2 billion) in funds to insure the removal of all leftover mines till the end of the year 2010. Approximately 4,000 kilometres of Croatia's territory is mine- infested, with over million unexploded mines on 500 square kilometres of mine fields. Mine explosions are the third most common cause of death in Croatia, with 1,828 victims. Last year alone, 22 persons were injured, 9 of them fatally. So far, 150 square kilometres have been cleared up, but if the de- mining continues at this rate, another 25 years will be needed to completely clear up Croatia's territory. This year, 250 million kuna ($30,8 million) has been secured for de- mining from the state budget funds, and HCR suggested 489 million kuna ($60 million) be secured next year, with around 300 million kuna ($37 million) expected to be collected at the Zagreb donor conference. Until now, Croatia has funded the de-mining process mostly on its own, with 80 percent of funds coming from the state budget. According to HCR data, Croatia has been using a World Bank DEM40 million loan, along with donations of the US, Canadian, Swedish, Italian, Norwegian, Belgian, Austrian and Swiss governments to de- mine the transport infrastructure and mark all mine fields since 1996. (hina) js