JAPANESE ASSOCIATION DONATES CHERRY SEEDLINGS TO REFUGEES

MALA GORICA, Nov 4 (Hina) - The Japanese cherry association "Gifu" on Monday donated 2,000 Japanese cherry seedlings to a refugee camp at Mala Gorica and the towns of Petrinja and Sisak, about 50 km southeast of Zagreb. The construction of the Mala Gorica refugee camp was financed by the Japanese government. The camp opened a year ago and houses 470 Croatian refugees from the eastern town of Vukovar and 200 refugees from neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina. Yoshiyuki Motomura, a minister at the Japanese Embassy to Croatia based in Vienna, said that Gifu had so far planted Japanese cherry seedlings in China, Vienna and Budapest. By planting cherry seedlings in Mala Gorica we wanted to express our sympathy with the refugees in the hope that all of them will return to their homes, Motomura said. (hina) vm mm 041520 MET nov 96