Progress on land mines
Amid all the misfortunes that have badgered this country in the past few months, Indonesians certainly have reason to feel rather good this week: By signing the Ottawa treaty to ban the production, use, sale and stockpiling of antipersonnel land mines, this country has placed itself among the 125 nations of the world which have now shown more than mere verbal concern over the agony which these inhumane, though militarily effective, weapons have caused among an uncountable number of people the world over.
Plaudits must of course also be given -- besides to all the other cosignatories -- to the sponsors and organizers of the conference, and to the nongovernmental organizations who have been active not only in championing the anti-land mine campaign but also in the actual cleanup activities. The fact that it has taken such a relatively short time to get from the negotiation stage to the actual signing of the treaty is certainly an accomplishment which deserves mention.
Aside from raising the now reasonable expectation that countries will actually abandon the use of these ruthless weapons in growing numbers, the signing of the treaty also raises the hope that enough funds can now be raised to clear already planted land mines from at least the most heavily mine-infested areas of the world, such as Afghanistan and Cambodia. A pledge for more than US$400 million in humanitarian aid for the clearance of land mines has been made by signatory countries
A few statistics, compiled by the United Nations, may give us some idea of the urgent need for action by governments in this particular humanitarian field. According to estimates given by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, one person is killed or maimed by a land mine somewhere on this planet every 20 minutes at present. In a year, some 26,000 people -- mostly innocent children and civilians -- are maimed or killed by mines.
In Afghanistan alone, according to the United Nations figures, some 40,000 people have been maimed by land mines in the past 20 years of civil war. Aside from human casualties, the economic cost which this strife-torn country has had to pay because of the use of land mines has been huge: an estimated 10 million mines are keeping much of the country's most arable land out of production.
One handicap still lying in the way of an effective global campaign for a ban on land mines, unfortunately, is the refusal of three major powers to sign the treaty. For compelling military and national security reasons of their own, the United States, Russia and China have as yet found it unfeasible to sign the treaty. The extensive borders of China and Russia, for example, make it difficult for these two countries to abandon the use of these cost-effective weapons.
The U.S. for its part argued that its continued use of land mines is necessary in Korea because of the great danger posed by the North Korean army being on high-alert status. During the Oslo conference last year, the U.S. chief delegate, Eric Newsom, argued that the "unique" Korean case made it necessary for his country to continue using antipersonnel mines for its defense obligations on the peninsula. Nevertheless, the U.S. is now reportedly planning to increase the US$87 million a year it currently spends for mine clearance to $100 million.
As far as Indonesia is concerned, the signing of the treaty this week in Ottawa is not only certain to do us credit as a civilized member of the world community of nations. It is also well in keeping with this country's national philosophy which puts great emphasis on humanitarian values.