Funding for mine removal in the area of Ostrovo was raised at a charity dinner organised by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Croatia last year. The amount was doubled with a US government donation and a total of 380,000 kuna was raised for mine removal in the Ostrovo area, AmCham executive director Andrea Doko-Jelusic said.
She said that since 2001 AmCham had raised HRK 7.1 million for mine removal in seven Croatian counties by organising charity dinners.
The money to be raised at this year's charity dinner, to be held on November 13, will be used for mine removal in Karlovac County, said Doko Jelusic.
Croatian Mine Action Centre deputy head Miljenko Vahtaric said that there remained around 14 hectares of farmland suspected of being infested with mines in Vukovar County.
Vahtaric said that a total of 553.5 square kilometres of land in 10 counties and 81 towns and municipalities was still suspected of being infested with mines.
The head of the government's Mine Action Office, Dijana Plestina, thanked all donors who had participated in financing mine action in Croatia, notably the U.S. Administration, which, she said, "has always been a loyal partner to Croatia in mine removal and projects for the rehabilitation of mine victims."
She added that in collecting funding for mine removal Croatia would turn to EU structural funds.
Also attending the ceremony was US Ambassador Kenneth Merten, who said that since 1999 the US Department of State had donated more than US$ 30 million for humanitarian mine action programmes in Croatia. "This has resulted in the clearance of almost 16 square kilometres of land and the removal of over 3,500 land mines and other unexploded ordnance," said the US ambassador.
"Demining is obviously a safety issue but we also look at it as an economic issue as well. It threatens economic development in Croatia and in addition to threatening the lives of people, mines will prevent usage of appropriate agricultural land and keep other sectors of economy from growing and expanding. We believe that only through the complete demining of Croatia can Croatia reach its full potential," Merten said.
Vukovar County deputy head Zdravko Kelic said the county would be entirely free of land mines in 2015, turning from one of the most mine-infested counties into one of the first to get rid of land mines.