01 July 2003
Deminers Destroy 10,000 Anti-Tank Landmines in Kandahar
(U.S. has supported demining operations in Afghanistan since 1988)
(540)
The State Department's Office of Humanitarian Demining Programs
arranged for the rapid destruction of over 10,000 anti-tank landmines
stockpiled at an unsecured ammunition supply point in the Afghan
province of Kandahar.
According to a media note released June 30, the State Department
contracted the American company RONCO, the Demining Agency for
Afghanistan, and Belgium's Handicap International to destroy the
mines, following a request by the governor of Kandahar Province.
The United States has supported humanitarian demining in Afghanistan
since late 1988, even before Soviet occupation forces departed, the
media note said. The note added that Afghanistan has developed one of
the most extensive and professional humanitarian mine action programs
in the world.
Following is the text of the media note:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
June 30, 2003
2003/715
MEDIA NOTE
Destruction of Stored Landmines in Afghanistan Helps to End Legacy of
Suffering by the Taliban
As part of the ongoing humanitarian mine action program in
Afghanistan, the Office of Humanitarian Demining Programs in the U.S.
Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs arranged
for the rapid destruction of over 10,000 anti-tank landmines strewn in
an unsecured ammunition supply point in Afghanistan's Kandahar
Province. The Governor of Kandahar Province specifically requested
this assistance after it became known that terrorists were creating
concealed traps using explosive material from mines stolen from that
supply point.
Teams from RONCO, an American company contracted to the Bureau of
Political-Military Affairs for humanitarian demining and unexploded
ordnance disposal worldwide; the Demining Agency for Afghanistan; and
Handicap International (Belgium) safely destroyed the landmines in
nine days. Experts had estimated the operation would take four to six
weeks. The UN Mine Action Center for Afghanistan certified that the
work met internationally recognized standards. Images of the operation
can be viewed at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/events/b/22066.htm.
"The United States does not normally engage in the destruction of
stockpiled mines as we prefer to focus on the emplaced persistent
mines that pose an immediate threat to civilians," remarked Lincoln P.
Bloomfield, Jr., the Special Representative of the President and
Secretary of State for Mine Action, who also serves as Assistant
Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. "This successful
operation demonstrates our ability to respond to situations in several
post-conflict environments, ranging from Afghanistan to Iraq, in which
cached mines and other types of munitions, small arms and other
weapons are poorly secured, widely available and an imminent danger."
"The humanitarian threat from this dump of unguarded mines clearly met
the standards for an exception to the U.S. practice of focusing on
emplaced rather than stockpiled mines," added Pat Patierno, Director
of the Office of Humanitarian Demining Programs.
The United States has supported humanitarian demining in Afghanistan
since late 1988, even before Soviet occupation forces departed.
Because of joint efforts by the United States, other donor nations and
various non-governmental organizations, Afghanistan has developed one
of the most extensive and professional humanitarian mine action
programs in the world. For further information, visit
www.state.gov/t/pm/hdp.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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