needed funds for UN mine clearing

BRITAIN threw a financial lifeline yesterday to the United Nations mine clearing programme in Cyprus at risk of closure from a lack of funds.

The €50,000 donation from Britain to the United Nations Mine Action Centre (MAC) in Cyprus will allow the programme to keep operating in February and March, a statement

by the British Foreign Office said.

UN officials in Cyprus had expressed fears work to clear mines from a buffer zone separating the island’s Greek and Turkish Cypriots could be suspended this month.

“The U.N. Mine Action Centre has been a highly successful confidence building measure, helping to build trust between the communities,” Britain’s Minister for Europe Caroline Flint said.

The project has cleared more than six million square metres of landmines since November, 2004. The European Union has donated € million – more than any other donor – but that money is now almost depleted.

“This donation comes at a critical moment, as the MAC urgently needs more funds to continue its essential work beyond January,” said Taye-Brook Zerihoun, special representative of the UN Secretary-general in Cyprus.

several areas of the 180 km-long UN supervised line splitting Cyprus are mined. There were three incidents in December, two involving civilians attempting to cross from one

side of the island to the other.

About 80 per cent of the clearing project, scheduled to run to the end of 2010, has been completed. Administrators need €5million to completely clear mines from the buffer zone. (R)

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