ZAGREB, June 28 (Hina) - A regional conference on land mines commenced on Monday with the plenary session in Zagreb Intercontinental Hotel. Croatia needs two billion dollars to remove over a million mines planted on about six thousand
square kilometres of its territory, said a Vice-President of the Sabor, Jadranka Kosor, at the beginning of the conference. She added that Croatia earmarked 25 percent of the budget for the care for Homeland War invalids and was expecting the assistance of the international community in solving the mine clearance problem. Kosor said great means were also allocated from the budget for the mine clearance and her country had asked a loan from the World Bank for this purpose. Foreign Minister Mate Granic stressed that Croatia was among first countries to ratify the Ottawa Convention which bans land mines. He said it was not by chance that Zagreb had been chosen a
ZAGREB, June 28 (Hina) - A regional conference on land mines
commenced on Monday with the plenary session in Zagreb
Intercontinental Hotel.
Croatia needs two billion dollars to remove over a million mines
planted on about six thousand square kilometres of its territory,
said a Vice-President of the Sabor, Jadranka Kosor, at the
beginning of the conference.
She added that Croatia earmarked 25 percent of the budget for the
care for Homeland War invalids and was expecting the assistance of
the international community in solving the mine clearance
problem.
Kosor said great means were also allocated from the budget for the
mine clearance and her country had asked a loan from the World Bank
for this purpose.
Foreign Minister Mate Granic stressed that Croatia was among first
countries to ratify the Ottawa Convention which bans land mines.
He said it was not by chance that Zagreb had been chosen as the host
of this conference in view to the fact that Croatia is one of most
seriously affected countries by the problem of land mines and
booby-traps. This problem thwarts a speedier return of displaced
persons and refugees and makes the reconstruction of the war-
stricken areas slower, Foreign Minister added.
Stressing that the removal of mines is the only solution to the
problem, Granic said costs of mine clearance were a big burden for
the state budget. He also called on the international community to
help Croatia in jobs of mine clearance and programmes for
rehabilitation of victims of mine blasts.
At the conference, the International Red Cross President, Cornelio
Sommaruga, called on states to take steps to prevent the land mines
production, whereas a Nobel prize winner, Judy Williams appealed to
the international community not to forget mine fields in Croatia.
The objectives of the three-day conference are the resumption of
dialogue between neighbouring and other states on the ban on land
mines and the security in the region, the exchange of experiences,
as well as to teach the population about dangers and threats posed
by such mines and to help mine victims.
The conference has been organised by the Croatian Government in
cooperation with the International Campaign for the Ban on Land
Mines, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Croatian
Red Cross and a non-governmental organisation called STRATA.
(hina) jn ms