300 years to go - 27/12/2001
Cambodia needs 300 years to clear all land mines
© Kyodo News Service
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 25 (Kyodo) - Cambodia needs 300 more years to clear all the land mines planted in the country since 1967, the head of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) said Tuesday.
It is estimated that four to six million mines were sown over the period.
Currently, land mines are still planted in some 3,000 square kilometers across the country, CMAC director general said, adding CMAC can clear only 15 sq. km a year.
Kem Sophoan, meanwhile, said foreign donors have pledged to provide $8.5 million for demining operations in 2002, up by $1 million from this year.
CMAC is a government organization, but 90% of its funding depends on foreign donations.
The demining center spends about $10 million a year to support work by its 2,866 staff and Kem Sophoan predicted that within 10 years the annual death toll from mines will drop to about 100, just one-third the level recorded in 1992-1993.
But already there are about 45,000 Cambodians who have lost limbs in mine blasts.
Since CMAC was set up in 1992, 13,600 mines and 66,800 pieces of unexploded ordnance have been removed, Kem Sophoan said.
During the last three years, foreign donors had been reluctant to provide aid to CMAC after a corruption scandal erupted, but recent audits have shown no loss of foreign funds and donations have increased as a result.
To subscribe to or unsubscribe from camnews, please email
to camnews-request@cambodia.org with the word "subscribe"
or "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the subject line.
For discussions, please subscribe to camdisc-request@cambodia.org
Originally published as jemisa.editthispage.com/discuss/msgReader$326
