ECMM'S STATEMENT ON DESTRUCTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

ZAGREB, July 15 (Hina) - The vast destruction of the cultural heritage in the former Yugoslavia is one of the saddest aspects of the conflict, a statement, issued today by the European Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM) in Zagreb, underlines. Little is known about the scale of damage to the heritage that goes on every single day and also has been used to cleanse culturally areas that were affected by ethnical cleansing. The European Community Monitoring Mission has decided to take up as the first international governmental organization the official task of monitoring cultural heritage and is developing a computerized system with a databank. ECMM has agreed to cooperate closely with the Council of Europe and will offer its findings to national heritage institutes of the Republics, UNESCO, and the international tribunal on war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. The ECMM cultural heritage task force has just completed with the Council of Europe a fact finding mission to Mostar, Central Bosnia and the UNPAs South and North, the same statements concludes.. 151450 MET jul 94