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Cambodia to Hold International Land



Subject: Cambodia to Hold International Landmine Meeting 

               Asia:Cambodia

               Cambodia to Hold International
               Landmine Meeting

               Reuters
               25-OCT-98

               PHNOM PENH, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Cambodia will explain its
success in
               tackling the scourge of landmines this week at a conference
to be attended by
               delegates from other mine-scarred countries such as
Afghanistan, Angola,
               Bosnia and Laos. 

               The three-day conference beginning on Monday is being
organised by the
               Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) which leads and coordinates
               mine-clearing and education efforts in Cambodia. 

               About 250 delegates will attend. 

               "This is one of the things where Cambodia is a leader in the
world, a model to be
               emulated by other countries," U.S. ambassador to Cambodia
Kenneth Quinn
               told Reuters. 

               "In de-mining, the world will be focused on Cambodia." 

               The main thrust of the conference will be the aim of
reducing victims of the
               deadly devices to zero, CMAC director Sam Sotha told
reporters on Friday. 

               "People say that you cannot (hope for) zero victims, that's
unbelieveable, but
               based on the fact that in some areas our staff are working
on mine awareness
               (and) our staff are working on mine marking, there are no
accidents," Sam Sotha
               said. 

               Sam Sotha said the number of Cambodians killed and maimed by
landmines had
               fallen to between 100 and 150 a month from around 500 a
month in the early
               1990s, largely due to the identification of mined areas and
education. 

               "That is the way I will present it to the group," he said.
"Come to Cambodia and
               see the reality." 

               Cambodia, with four to six million landmines buried in its
soil, is one of the
               world's most heavily mined countries. 

               Some 40,000 people, or one person in 250, have lost limbs to
mines, giving the
               country one of the highest ratios of amputees per head of
population in the
               world. 

               Sam Sotha said that since CMAC was set up in 1993 it had
cleared 88,646
               anti-personnel mines, 958 anti-tank mines and 451,000 pieces
of unexploded
               ordnance. 

               So far almost 200 minefields in the Cambodian countryside
have been cleared
               but several thousand other sites, confirmed as minefields or
suspected to be
               mined, remain to be dealt with. 

               Sam Sotha said hopes were high that with the help of new
techniques, including
               mine-sniffing dogs, all productive land in Cambodia could be
cleared of mines
               within 20 to 30 years. Previous estimates suggested the task
would take much
               longer. 

               CMAC expects international assistance worth up to $13
million in its fight to rid
               the country of mines next year, a similar amount to this
year's budget, officials
               said last week. 

               A new scheme expected to be discussed at this week's meeting
is an "adopt a
               minefield" programme whereby communities in rich countries
would sponsor a
               community in a landmine-affected area and help pay for the
clearing of its mines. 

               Representatives of some 24 donor countries will also attend
the conference
               which premier Hun Sen is to open on Monday. 

               Japanese deputy foreign minister Nobutaka Machimura will
also attend. Japan is
               funding the meeting. 

               Most landmines in Cambodia were laid between the early 1980s
and the early
               1990s when a guerrilla alliance fought a Vietnamese army of
occupation and the
               Hanoi-backed government in Phnom Penh. 

               Cambodia was one of 121 nations to sign a treaty to ban
anti-personnel
               landmines late last year but more of the weapons have been
laid in factional
               fighting in the country's northwest. 

                            Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.All rights
reserved. 





                                                   

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