U.S. Announces Additional Grant for Demining in Croatia

(Additional $360,000 to support program) 



The State Department announced that the United States will provide an
additional $360,000 for demining programs in Croatia, following the
return of a public-private fact-finding mission there.


Portions of the grant money will fund the development and purchase of
the demining equipment -- MRV3 demining flail -- which is engineered
by a Croatian firm.


The demining operations from this initiative are set to begin this
spring, according to a January 28 press release.


This initiative is in cooperation with the Croatian Government's
Croatian Mine Action Center (CROMAC) and the Slovenian International
Trust Fund, a regional demining program.


In fiscal year 1999 the United States provided Croatia with $1,692,200
in humanitarian demining assistance, and currently has demining
programs in 30 countries as well as Kosovo and Northwest Somalia.


Following is the text of the press release:



(begin text)



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Spokesman

January 28, 2000



STATE DEPARTMENT GRANTS



HUMANITARIAN DEMINING ASSISTANCE TO CROATIA



Following last week's public-private partnership mission to Croatia to
learn more about the hazards posed by anti-personnel landmines, the
Humanitarian Demining Program (HDP) office of the U.S. Department of
State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs will provide an
additional $360,000 to support ongoing demining efforts in Croatia, in
cooperation with the Croatian Government's Croatian Mine Action Center
(CROMAC) and the Slovenian International Trust Fund, a regional
demining program. (The United States provided Croatia with $1,692,200
in humanitarian demining assistance in FY 1999.)


The fact-finding mission was led by Jim Lawrence, Director of
Public-Private Partnerships for the Office of the Special
Representative of the President and Secretary of State for Global
Humanitarian Demining (GHD), with participation by Pat Patierno,
Director of HDP, William Wood, Director of the State Department's
Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, and representatives from
the U.S. private sector and non-governmental organizations. Roots of
Peace coordinated the donation of funds, goods and services from
FedEx, The North Face, Royal Robbins, and the Rotary Chapter of San
Rafael, California, and participated in the visit. Roots of Peace also
arranged for the participation of representatives from Autodesk, a
California software company that is donating its software and related
hardware to support mine action programs.


Three hundred thousand dollars of the grant will fund the development
and purchase of the MRV3 demining flail engineered by the Croatian
firm of Doking D.O.O. Ltd. The terms of the grant include demining
approximately 60 hectares of land (150 acres) as recompense for the
HDP funding.


Demining operations from this initiative are scheduled to commence in
the spring. A second group of private sector donors, particularly ones
representing the American wine industry, plans to visit Croatia later
in the spring to build on the accomplishments of CROMAC and this first
fact-finding group.


The Office of the Special Representative of the President and
Secretary of State for Global Humanitarian Demining was established in
1997. It seeks to create conditions that will eliminate the threat of
landmines to civilians around the world by the year 2010. GHD supports
efforts in the U.S. and abroad to accelerate landmine detection and
clearance programs, promote landmine awareness in affected nations,
assist survivors of landmine accidents, enhance research and
development of new demining technologies, and develop public-private
partnerships to support these programs.


The U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program, established in 1993, aims to
relieve human suffering and foster national and regional security,
social and political stability, and economic development by reducing
civilian landmine casualties through support for mine clearance
training and operations, mine awareness, research and development, and
assistance to landmine victims. The U.S. implements this program in
cooperation with the host governments of mine-affected states and
international agencies. Currently the U.S. has demining programs in
nearly 30 countries as well as Kosovo and Northwest Somalia.


For further information, contact John Stevens in GHD at (202)
647-0676, or Matt Murphy in HDP at (202) 647-4350.


(end text)



(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State)