FBIS-TAC-97-262
FBIS
FBIS Translated Text
Near East/South Asia
19 Sep 1997
Near East
Lebanon
Lebanon: Oslo 'Big Step' To Landmine Ban Despite US Change of Mind
MM1909144497 London Al-Hayah in Arabic 19 Sep 97 p 17
MM1909144497
London Al-Hayah
Arabic
BFN
Article by Kamran Qurrah Daghi: "Cold War Mines"
It is indisputable that great credit is due to Diana, the late Princess of Wales, for the realization of the Oslo agreement concerning the ban on the production and use of landmines. The day before yesterday [17 September], more than 100 states accepted the agreement, which is a draft to be approved as an international treaty in Ottawa on 3 December, to become effective from the year 2000. To give an idea of the distressing way this kind of weapon is used and show the importance of the agreement to ban it, it is enough to point out that between 100 and 200 million landmines are currently planted in 60 countries resulting in the killing and mutilation of about 26,000 people every year, according to figures published by the International Red Cross Organization. In Bosnia, for example, landmines have mutilated one in every 300 of the population; and Afghanistan, Kurdistan, and Iraq are considered to be the regions most "rich" in landmines.
It was expected that some of the principal manufacturers of landmines would reject this agreement, in particular, Russia, China, India, and Pakistan, but the US change of mind about accepting it is seen as a setback to the campaign to ban land mines, especially after this campaign gained great momentum when Princess Diana became associated with it and visited Angola and Bosnia where she traveled to minefields and talked to their victims. Almost everyone agrees that her distressing fatal accident also played a part in speeding up the arrival at the Oslo agreement.
Although the United States was very enthusiastic about the idea of banning landmines, at the last moment it chose not to be included in the consensus of states who accepted the agreement. It is ironic that one of the two reasons which President Bill Clinton put forward in justification for his country's stand is in essence the need to use landmines to protect the borders of one Arab country (Kuwait) against another Arab country (Iraq)! The second reason is the need to plant landmines along the border between the two Koreas to protect the American forces and South Koreans from any possible attack which North Korea's forces might launch. But whereas Russia, China, India, and Pakistan rejected the agreement, in its entirety and in its details, the United States has announced its willingness to accept the treaty on condition the draft includes an exemption as regards the use of "smart landmines" on the borders between the two Koreas. This is what the US delegation failed to achieve last Tuesday when it demanded that the signing be delayed 24 hours to convince the rest of the delegations to make an amendment to the draft. It is fair to point out that the United States, unlike the four states mentioned above, no longer produces, sells, or uses landmines except "smart" ones.
It appears that President Clinton has given in to the intense opposition shown by the US army generals who insisted on postponing the destruction of the US stock of landmines for nine years.
The importance of Diana's participation lies in the fact that she drew the world's attention, more than any international or government personality, to the forgotten tragedies of the landmine victims. The problem is that landmines claim their victims one by one and kill or mutilate them singly, far from the view of journalists, and therefore far from the attention of the newsmakers. This is what the role of the late British princess changed. But even after the international treaty to ban landmines becomes effective, those which are already planted will continue to kill and mutilate civilians, their principal victims, for many years to come. In any case, we must be optimistic about the Oslo agreement, as it is a big step on the road, brought about by the stands of the states who refused to let this carry on. In the end, this is the first international treaty of its kind stipulating a comprehensive ban on the production and use of these "blind weapons." This is in itself another victory over the legacy of the Cold War.
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