Literary Reference Center Plus
Section:
INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM
RECLAIMING THE POISONED LAND
The cessation of armed conflict in several regions of the world
in recent years, and a realization of what dangers were left in its
wake, has led to a near universal condemnation of the use of
antipersonnel land mines. Now there is a wide agreement among
the OAS member states on the need for "an effective, legally
binding international agreement to ban the use, stockpiling,
production, and transfer of antipersonnel mines." The related
concern, that of clearing the land of existing antipersonnel mines,
has become a priority activity of the OAS.
Demining in Central America is fundamentally a humanitarian task
of the utmost urgency and importance for the countries of the
region, for public safety, for socioeconomic development, and for
the consolidation of democracy. Mine fields are a deadly trap for
rural populations and prevent the utilization of vast and rich areas
for cultivation and the expansion of employment opportunities, all
of which affect the stability of democratic governments in the
region. The mines also block the adequate use and expansion of
national infrastructure, roads, bridges, electrical transmission
towers, and hydroelectric plants. The presence of land mines
delays the integration process in border areas; consequently, their
removal is a priority component of the peace process.
The great majority of antipersonnel mines in Central America are
of industrial fabrication, although there are also improvised
explosive devices as we. If not removed, antipersonnel mines and
booby traps result in the loss of human life, as well as of domestic
animals. They represent a constant threat to the civilian
populations long after the areas of combat have been abandoned
by adversaries.
Because of the importance that land-mine removal represents to
Central America, the OAS has devised a regional assistance
program with the technical support of the staff of the InterAmerican Defense Board (IADB), which, since 1991, has
supported mine removal, trained and equipped the engineer
sapper platoons, and advised and supervised actual mine-removal
operations. For the last two years, the overall coordination and
supervision of the program has been the responsibility of the OAS
Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD).
A number of member states have contributed to this effort,
including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Peru, the
United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. They have been joined by
OAS observer nations Germany, Spain, France, Holland, Japan,
Sweden, and Switzerland. For Anders Backman, political adviser
to the Swedish embassy in Nicaragua, "the fact that the peasants
are able to cultivate their lands and move freely, without fear of
mines, has motivated Sweden to collaborate with the demining
efforts of the OAS in this region."
The OAS/IADB Assistance Program for Demining in Central
America (PADCA) utilizes specialized national military platoons
from Central American nations (Costa Rica, Honduras, and
Nicaragua), who work under the advice and supervision of the
technical experts provided by the member states (Brazil,
Colombia, and Venezuela) through the IADB. This methodology
not only guarantees adequate and rigorous international technical
support but also permits the employment of the national military
contingents in a profoundly humanitarian service to the
community.
"It is a cause of great satisfaction among the Inter-American
Defense Board," says General John C. Thompson, president of the
IADB, "and also the soldiers who are working together in Central
America, to see themselves as peace soldiers who are working in
a common cause to improve the lives and the well-being of their
people."
In this way, PADCA supports the efforts of the affected countries
themselves to free their territories of land mines. PADCA's main
objectives are to assist member countries in building up national
capacity for demining and to strengthen inter-American
cooperation in confronting the problem of land-mine clearance.
PADCA has adopted an integral approach to demining, which
includes training personnel, supporting actual demining, providing
emergency medical facilities, creating a public awareness
campaign, and sponsoring rehabilitation programs for land-mine
victims. The OAS is considering the establishment of regional
rehabilitation centers for both physical and occupational
rehabilitation of mine victims. PADCA's goal is the elimination of
all existing mines on Central American soil by the year 2000.
The IADB is responsible for putting together the international
team of mine-clearing experts; providing technical advice;
supervising sapper unit outfitting, training, demining operations,
and logistics; and verifying and certifying that the safest and most
appropriate methods are being employed. The Central American
nations themselves make a highly important contribution to each
project by having their sappers carry out the actual perilous and
painstaking tasks of demining. They also provide knowledge of
the local terrain.
PADCA's recent efforts in Honduras, which have continued
without interruption since September 1995, involve a company of
120 sappers and thirteen international supervisors from Colombia,
Brazil, the United States, and Venezuela. Despite challenging
weather and terrain, and a lack of records to indicate the precise
location of mined areas, considerable progress has been made.
An area of nearly one hundred miles along the Nicaraguan
boarder has been cleared, freeing up over 860 acres of farmland.
The sappers destroyed 1,145 land mines and concluded an
intensive awareness and education campaign to warn the public
of the dangers of antipersonnel mines. On May 23, 1996, at an
official ceremony in Jamastran, attended by President Carlos
Roberto Reina, the mine-cleared areas were officially turned over
to local authorities. Marlene Villela de Talbott, ambassador of
Honduras to the OAS, recently stated that "the government of
Honduras is grateful to the countries of the American continent,
to the donating countries outside of the continent, to the OAS,
and to the Inter-American Defense Board. With their solidarity
and demonstrated cooperation, they will permit us to realize the
dream of all citizens of Honduras, to see the national territory free
of mines by the end of 1998."
In Costa Rica, preparation, outfitting, and training began in May
1996, along the border with Nicaragua between the towns of Los
Chiles and Boca de San Carlos. In response to a request from the
Costa Rican government, there is currently a staff of forty-four
Costa Rican sappers working under the direction of three
members of the international team. Demining is expected to last
two years.
At the same time, mine clearing in Nicaragua was reinstated, at
the request of that nation's government. The program had been
suspended in 1993 for lack of resources. Members of the
OAS/IADB international team supervised a sweep of the perimeter
of the Central American hydroelectric plant near Jinotega to check
and certify the results of the demining carried out previously by
the Nicaraguan army. This was an essential step in securing the
funding from the international community for the expansion of
the plant, itself a vital part of the revival of Nicaragua's economy.
Although ninety thousand mines are still in place in the country,
mine-clearing operations are expected to be completed around
the year 2000.
A national demining project in Guatemala, with OAS/IADB
cooperation, will be initiated in the near future. This will include
training and equipping personnel, as well as a public information
and awareness campaign. Both the Guatemalan army and the
URNG (the former armed opposition) have recently declared in
writing that there are no recorded mine fields remaining in
Guatemala; consequently, efforts will focus on the large number
of unexploded ordnance items (grenades, artillery shells, and
bombs), which represent a public safety threat to the populace in
many areas of the country.
Secretary General Cesar Gaviria has observed that "in this last
part of the century, Central America has suffered the most serious
episodes of violence. With the support of the member and
observer member countries, the OAS has been engaged in this
crucial effort. We hope that by the year 2000 we can declare
Central America free of antipersonnel land mines. With the help of
Central American presidents, congresses, and all of their villages
we hope that the mines do not return to that territory. We also
hope that all of the American countries will support the broader
objectives in declaring the Americas free of mines."
The OAS Department of Public Information has recently
concluded production of The Poisoned Land, a half-hour video
about the demining activities of the OAS in central America. A
contingent of sapper and international advisers cooperated with
the production, including a simulation of a demining accident.
Several weeks after the video was completed, one of the Brazilian
advisers who took part in the video's simulation, Major Xavier da
Silva, lost a leg to an exploring land mine.
The Poisoned Land is particularly useful as a point of departure
for academic or public discussions regarding worldwide efforts to
ban the use of antipersonnel land mines. It is available in English
or Spanish. To order, send a check, money order, or purchase
order for US$20 to:
The Poisoned Land Organization of American States
(OAS)
Department of Public Information 17th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006 USA
"Clearing to the Way to the Future," a brochure that summarizes
the demining program of the OAS and the Inter-American
Defense Board, is available in four language editions (English,
Spanish, Portuguese, and French). To obtain copies, write to:
Demining Organization of American States (OAS)
Unit for the Promotion of Democracy
Street, NW
Washington, DC 20003 USA
1889 F
A joint demining effort of the OAS-IADB and the Nicaraguan army
will make rural areas safe again for families such as this one living
near the Planta Centroamericana, a hydroelectric plant in central
Nicaragua
PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): A Honduran army soldier cleans a
mine before it is deactivated, right Brazilian major Rui Xavier da
Silva,
top right, takes cover with a group of sappers moments before
exploding a mine near the Honduran-Nicaraguan border.
PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Silva later suffered an accident while
in the field
~~~~~~~~
by Luiz Coimbra and Jorge Dorio
Luiz Coimbra is an information officer with the OAS Department of
Public Information. Jorge Dorio is coordinator of special projects
in the same department. All photographs courtesy OAS
Department of Public Information.