*EPF415 01/22/2004
Text: Festival to Raise Awareness of Global Landmine Problem
(South Florida Landmine Action Group Festival January 24-25) (540)

The South Florida Landmine Action Group Festival is being held January 24-25 in Miami to highlight public awareness of the global problem caused by persistent landmines that have been left from past conflicts, a U.S. Department of State spokesman said January 22.

"The Festival, inspired by concerned citizens who formed the South Florida Landmine Action Group, aims to build grass roots support for humanitarian mine action and sensitize the public to the fact that persistent landmines not only pose a threat on other continents but also affect parts of the American hemisphere," the spokesman said in a prepared statement.

Following is the text of the statement:

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
January 22, 2004

MEDIA NOTE

Florida Festival to Raise Public Awareness of the Global Landmine Problem

Peacock Park in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, will be transformed into a mock minefield and information center for the public to learn about the global problem caused by persistent landmines left from past conflicts, during the South Florida Landmine Action Group Festival on January 24-25, 2004.

The Festival, inspired by concerned citizens who formed the South Florida Landmine Action Group, aims to build grass roots support for humanitarian mine action and sensitize the public to the fact that persistent landmines not only pose a threat on other continents but also affect parts of the American hemisphere. Leading figures in humanitarian mine action, musical performances, information booths, and a U.S. Coast Guard exhibit will be featured.

Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., the Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State for Mine Action, who also serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, will be the keynote speaker. Mary Jean Eisenhower, President and CEO of People to People International; Colin King, renowned landmine expert; Dr. Ken Rutherford, co-founder of the Landmine Survivors Network, and other distinguished representatives from U.S. Southern Command, The HALO Trust, Mines Advisory Group, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Defense's Humanitarian Demining Training Center, the United Nations Mine Action Service, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, Marshall Legacy Institute, Adopt-A-Minefield, Polus Center for Social and Economic Development, and the Nicaraguan National Mine Action Program, will also address the Festival.

The Festival was organized by People to People International, the South Florida Landmine Action Group, and the U.S. Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement. It is being supported by the Mine Action Information Center, Organization of American States, the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce, City of Miami, local chapters of Rotary International and Kiwanis International, the Florida Association of Hispanic Journalists, as well as the State of Florida and other local sponsors.

More information about this free Festival and a gala event to kick it off on the evening of Friday, January 23, 2004, can be obtained from www.sflag.org or by contacting Bill Lara, South Florida Landmine Action Group Media Director, in Miami at (786) 787-3524 or [email protected]. An electronic media kit is also available on the Festival website.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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