Cambodia has reiterated its unchanging position that it “does not possess and does not lay new anti-personnel mines”, despite Thai attempts to convince global media outlets that mines it discovered — in historically heavily mined disputed territory on the border — were freshly laid.
Senior Minister Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority (CMAA), articulated the Kingdom’s stance as he addressed an October 16 meeting of the government’s Technical Working Group on Mine Action (TWG-MA) and its development partners.
Thuch expressed regret over the recent tensions along the Cambodia-Thailand border and the baseless accusations against Cambodia concerning the use of anti-personnel mines.
“Cambodia is fully committed to the humanitarian principles of the Ottawa Convention and to clearing landmines in areas within Cambodia’s sovereign territory,” he said.
According to the CMAA, since 1992, Cambodia has cleared more than 3,400 square kilometres of land contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance (ERW), finding and destroying over 4.4 million mines and ERWs. In the last five years, these efforts have reduced the number of casualties to fewer than 100 deaths and injuries per annum.
Enrico Gaveglia, resident representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Cambodia, commended all demining operators for their dedication in ensuring community safety. He also acknowledged that the issue of landmines continues to impede development, progress, safety, freedom and the growth of local economies.
The UNDP and its partners have participated in clearing mines and unexploded ordnance through the “Mine Clearance for Results” project, clearing 418 square kilometres of contaminated land, equivalent to 16% of the total cleared area, and benefiting 1.3 million people.
Meanwhile, Thai authorities continue to attempt to place blame on Cambodia for the mines they recently discovered, near what was once the most heavily mined border on the planet.
On October 16, Reuters reported that Thai authorities allowed them to view videos and photos of mines and quoted a spokesperson for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs claiming that injured Thai soldiers were victims of newly laid PMN-2 mines.
Reuters presented the photos to analysts, both Thai and foreigner, who corroborated the Thai authorities’ claims that the mines “appear to have been laid recently”.
Cambodian authorities have rejected Thailand’s accusations regarding the laying of new mines since an initial incident in July, which led to deadly armed clashes.
