Handicap International Belgium delivers 25,000 petition postcards to call on President Clinton to ban landmines

This Tuesday 11 July 2000; at 9H45 Anne Capelle et Koen Schelkens, representatives of Handicap International met the US Congressman James McGovern on the Capitol steps in Washington . They handed over 24,913 postcards addressed to the President of the United States, Bill Clinton. Belgian citizens signed these postcards and they call on the President to accede to the Mine Ban treaty before leaving the White House.

Representative McGovern, very active in the promotion of the mine ban in the US, personally committed to hand over the cards to the President. He declared: "On behalf of the members of Congress who support the treaty to ban landmines, I am happy to receive these postcards and to relay them to the President. It is especially a privilege to receive them from Handicap International, one of the founding members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.".

During the hand over of the cards, Anne Capelle, Head of the Mines Unit at Handicap International, declared: "These 25,000 postcards, represents, in terms of population size, the equivalent of 655,000 cards collected in the US."

She added, "The Ottawa process has demonstrated the importance small countries can have in international humanitarian law. This is why the Belgian population, not understanding why the US is reluctant to sign the treaty, decided to send postcards to the US President. As the biggest power in the world, the rest of the world watches US policy. Because its actions can effect other countries' people, those citizens living outside of the US also feel the right to express their disagreement towards one or another of the US international positions."

For two days members of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines gathered in Washington to meet their representatives and Senators to speak to them about the landmine problem and urge them to sign a letter to President Clinton urging the US to join the treaty. Representative McGovern also declared " I hope that other similar campaigns will be send to the Heads of States of Turkey and Finland, Russia and China, India and Pakistan, and Cuba."

At 11 H00, the HI delegation went to the National Security Council to meet Anne Witkowsky, Director of Defense Policy and Arms Control, and Don Steinberg, Special Ambassador for Humanitarian Demining. Representatives from ICBL and from Human Rights Watch joined the meeting. They encouraged the US to take significant steps towards the ban, if accession was not possible, before the end of the current administration.

Handicap International, one of the co-founders of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines works in 50 countries around the world, trying to alleviate the suffering of people with disabilities and providing services needed for their rehabilitation, and preventive programs such as mine awareness and demining. HI meets landmines victims in its daily operations and really wants to be able to say to them one day: "We did it, we rid the world of landmines, there will be no new victims from now on".

Contacts:
Julie Tilman : ++ 32 2 286 50 59 OR Liz Bernstein ICBL : ++1 202 547 26 67 , banemnow-at-icbl-org