12/04/2026

theSunday Special XI ON SUNDAY APR 12, 2026

Croatia landmine-free 30 years after war

D AVORIN CETIN was cleaning a yard in a Croatian village when a landmine exploded metres away, leaving him badly injured and killing a close friend instantly. It took him two decades and more than a dozen operations before he felt safe stepping on grass again, haunted by what might lie beneath. Croatia finally declared it was mine-free earlier this year, lifting a threat that had lingered for its people since its four-year war of independence began in 1991. “That danger is gone. We can walk freely in our country,” said Cetin, who was left severely disabled by the explosion. But the toll was terrible. Over 200 people were killed by landmines and around 400 more injured. It took Croatia 30 years at a cost of €1.2 billion (RM5.6 billion) to remove over 107,000 landmines and 470,000 unexploded ordnance left after the conflict as the former Yugoslavia collapsed. Yet for hundreds of landmine survivors and the families of victims, the trauma remains. ‘Deep pain’ The landmine that forever changed the Pievac family was laid just a short walk from their home in the village of Brodjani, near the central town of Karlovac. Months after fighting had ended, the young family was walking along a path when a falling branch triggered a blast that killed Juraj Pievac’s brother, fatally wounded his wife and disabled him for life. His daughter miraculously escaped unharmed. “It hit three of us, standing just a few metres apart,” Pievac said. His family was among the Croats who fled the farming village when Belgrade-backed Serb rebels seized the area in 1991. When fighting ended, the community slowly returned to rebuild the war-ravaged village ... waiting for them were deadly explosives hidden in homes and littering the surrounding land. “It was a struggle. Somehow, we made it

through, but a deep pain remains,” the 70 year-old grandfather said, after spending two years on crutches and undergoing lengthy rehabilitation for his arm and leg injuries. “However, the memories return, especially when I wake up at night,” he said through tears while looking at a wedding photo of his wife. She was 36 when she died. He has since returned to his farm and now shares the renovated home with his son’s family. “What we had is gone and can never be brought back. I did what I could to keep our farm going.” ‘Walked straight into it’ The UN first feared as much as one-fifth of Croatia had been affected by mines after Yugoslavia disintegrated in a series of wars. Although later efforts shrunk that estimate substantially, over 870 sq km had to be cleared. In neighbouring Bosnia, around 1.6% of its territory is still suspected of having mines. More than 600 have died there since the end of the war. Among the victims in both countries are dozens of demining experts, killed while attempting to remove the deadly devices. Mirsad Tokic, who worked disarming landmines for years, had several close calls before a blast took his leg in 2007. The 57-year-old was drawn to the job despite the risks, enjoying the adrenaline fuelled work that required absolute focus. But when he stepped on a mine while working in a remote village near Croatia’s Adriatic coast, his thoughts had drifted instead to his upcoming birthday party waiting for him back home. “I just wanted to finish the task and rushed to clear a narrow path of vegetation ... and walked straight into it.” The father of three said he would be glad to have a completely mine-free country. “It would be wonderful if no one ever had to experience such a tragedy again.” ‘A miracle’ Cetin, who is a campaigner for landmine victims, said the chance to live without the

Pievac looks at a small monument with a granite slab where he was wounded by a mine explosion and where his wife and brother were killed in the village of Brodani. – AFPPIC

stress disorder for years, but found solace in nature, fishing and his motorcycles. “I don’t live in the past. I’ve welcomed a grandchild, my daughter has graduated,” the 62-year-old said, smiling gently. “Life is a miracle.” – AFP

everyday fear of mines was an important moment for Croatia. “A huge, great job was done.” But he said victims required long-term support, including mental health care. Cetin himself battled post-traumatic

Picasso’s Guernica at heart of tussle in Spain over display location PABLO PICASSO’S anti-war masterpiece Guernica is swept up in a conflict in Spain, where Basque leaders want the government in Madrid to move the painting to their region, whose 1937 bombing inspired it. The mural-sized painting has been on display since 1992 at the Reina Sofia museum in the Spanish capital, and repeated requests for it to be moved to Spain’s Basque Country have been refused. The latest demand was made by the head of the regional Basque government, Imanol Pradales, during talks with Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The Basque government wants the painting to be hung in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the April 26, 1937 bombing, in which forces from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy razed the town of Guernica to help General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War. Bringing the painting to Bilbao from October until June would be a form of “reparation and historical memory”, the Basque government said.

“It makes no sense for everything to be returned to its origin. In that case, we should send all of Picasso’s works to Malaga,” she said, a reference to the southern Spanish city where Picasso was born. Asked about the controversy on Tuesday, Spain’s central government spokesperson Elma Saiz said the government relies on the advice of “professionals”, referring to the museum report, and “never resorts to insults”. Painted in 1937 in the aftermath of the bombing, Guernica debuted in Paris at the World’s Fair, then was placed in the care of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. When Franco’s forces overthrew the Spanish republic, Picasso stipulated that the painting should not return to Spain until democracy had been restored. The work was moved to Spain in 1981, six years after Franco’s death. It was first displayed at the Prado museum, then moved to the Reina Sofia in 1992. Picasso, who died in 1973, never lived to see the painting on exhibit in Spain. In 1995, Spanish authorities refused to lend it to the Pompidou Centre in Paris, citing the damage the work could suffer during its transport. – AFP

Sanchez, whose minority government depends on the support of two Basque parties in parliament to pass laws, did not reject the proposal outright, instead referring it to the Culture Ministry. The ministry asked the Reina Sofia museum for a technical report on the viability of the request, which once again “strongly advised” against moving the painting. The report said the painting is too fragile to travel, citing risks of damage from vibration or movement. Picasso’s black-and-white masterpiece is the highlight of the Reina Sofia museum, which received about 1.6 million visitors last year. The outspoken head of the regional government of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso of the conservative Popular Party, called the request to move the painting “provincial”.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso on display at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. – AFPPIC