The Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines urges negotiators in KNU and SPDC talks to include landmine issue in any joint actions
Author/Origin: Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines thailandSPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERicbl.org |
(Monday 01 March 2004 Bangkok, Thailand)
Monday 1 March 2004 is the fifth anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty's entry into force - the day in 1999 when the treaty became binding under international law. The Royal Thai Government now sits as the president of the Meeting of States Party to the Mine Ban Treaty, and has urged its neighbors to join in the Mine Ban. Several ASEAN states still remain outside the Mine Ban, in particular Burma, where landmine use has risen to crisis levels.
Burma is one of the few states in the world today where landmines continue to be used. However, with the launching of talks on ending combat between the Karen National Union and the State Peace and Development Council now taking place, there is some hope that an end to landmine use and the casualties it has caused can be reduced.
The Thailand Campaign welcomes these historic peace talks and urges the negotiators to explicitly recognize the dangers to the peace which will be posed by landmines laid over the past many years of armed conflict. We strongly encourage that any final agreement include action to address the landmine problem, in particular:
- That both parties clearly and unambiguously mark their mine fields on the date of the commencement of a ceasefire;
- That both parties commit to refrain from any use of the landmine, and that laying of landmines be considered a violation of the ceasefire or an act of agression;
- That both parties seek the assistance of the United Nations Mine Action Service and other international agencies in developing mine action plans for implementation prior to the return of any displaced persons.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines urges all remaining parties in Burma who are engaged in mine use within the country to jointly agree to cease the use of landmines, as a positive step toward future peace and out of humanitarian concern for the people of the country.
TCBL Press Contact for this release Kh. Yeshua 02 934 3289
