RED CROSS TO DISTRIBUTE 115,000 BROCHURES ON MINES

ZAGREB, Apr 10 (Hina) - The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Croatian Red Cross have initiated a joint drive aimed at raising the public awareness of the danger of mines, a Zagreb press conference heard on Wednesday.#L# According to coordinator Bruce Biber, in the initial stage Red Cross activists would distribute 115,000 brochures containing information about the appearance of various types of mines and what to do to with them. "The most important information contained in the brochure is the phone number - 985 - which one should call if one happens to see a mine," Biber said. The organisers also published 10,000 posters and shot radio and TV spots which will be broadcast by local stations over the next few weeks. In a second stage, the ICRC would organise seminars and panels for training volunteers in the art of maintaining public awareness of mines at a high level. The idea is that each village in the mine-infested area should have two trained volunteers, Biber said. The ICRC is promoting a similar programme aimed at the prohibition of production, distribution and use of anti-personnel mines at the international level, ICRC media officer Patrick Fuller said. So far, 25 countries have forbidden the export of anti- personnel mines, he added. According to estimates, there are about 3 million unexploded mines in Croatia. (hina) mm as 101508 MET apr 96