Progress on land mines

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.