CROATIA TO INVEST MORE FIRE-FIGHTING RESOURCES IN THE AIR - P.M.

( Editorial: --> 2563 ) BASKA VODA, Aug 8 (Hina) - The Croatian Government's inner cabinet held a working meeting on Saturday to discuss the disastrous fires which have engulfed coastal parts of Croatia during the past week. The fires particularly ravaged the Peljesac peninsula, several Dalmatian islands and the Dubrovnik and Konavle areas in southern Croatia as well as the Sibenik and Zadar hinterlands on the central Adriatic. "Most of the catastrophic fires have been extinguished or are under control by firefighters, apart from (the islands of) Korcula and Lastovo, where fires have not lowered their intensity so the situation there on the ground continues to be of concern," Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa told reporters after the meeting held in Baska Voda, on the southern Adriatic. "After visiting the fire affected areas I can confirm that all services of local administration and self-government have done their job, and especially members of the Croatian Army, police and professional fire brigades. "They operated efficiently and within the limits of human capabilities given the size of the fires and the difficult to access terrain." Matesa promised that the Government would guarantee loans needed for reconstruction and the building of burnout homes, while tourists who were evacuated due to the close proximity of the fires and threats to personal security will be given a free seven-day stay in one of Croatia's resorts. "The fires of the past few days once again showed the effectiveness of extinguishing blazes from the air, and the inefficiency and untimely need for extinguishing on the land," he said. "Therefore several more Canadairs will be purchased for next summer, and part of the professional fire brigades will be relocated to the Adriatic, so that extinguishing efforts can be quicker and more efficient." Matesa said during the whole time Croatian President Franjo Tudjman had been informed of the situation in war ravaged areas. Also attending the meeting at Baska Voda's Horizont hotel were Deputy Prime Ministers Mate Granic, Jure Radic, Ljerka Mintas- Hodak, Ivica Kostovic and Milan Ramljak. The Baska Voda hosts used the occasion to inform the Croatian Government's inner cabinet of tourist season results in the municipality, which is currently accommodating more than 5,000 tourists. It is planned about half a million tourist overnight stays will be achieved for this season. Following the talks, Matesa expressed satisfaction with the activities of hoteliers, who last year invested about 45 million kuna (about US$7 million) in upgrading their facilities. The Croatian Premier said the loans received had been worthily used and quality tourism plans such as the one in Baska Voda had to be encouraged even further. (Hina) mbr 081751 MET aug 98