Development: Plant a Landmine, And Reap Years of Destruction

[struggle4progress]

Inter Press Service (Johannesburg)
November 29, 2004
Posted to the web November 29, 2004
Joyce Mulama
Nairobi

<snip> "I stepped on a landmine on my way from the market. I did not know what hit me but I fell down unconscious, only to find myself in hospital the following day," she says, recounting the events of a day in 1996. <snip>

"I was playing with my friends throwing the gadget at one another The gadget exploded on me and I went unconscious. I regained consciousness after two weeks, when I learnt I was in a hospital with one arm and leg missing and could only see with one eye," he told IPS. <snip>

"It is now likely that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 new landmine casualties each year," it adds. The ICBL is a coalition of groups involved in the anti-landmine campaign. <snip>

According to Wolfgang Petritsch, president of the summit, about 2.7 billion dollars has been raised since 1997 for de-mining activities.

"This has brought us pretty close to finishing the job. But we need another couple of billions to complete the job. This is a global problem that needs to be brought to an end soon," he said in an interview with IPS. <snip>

http://allafrica.com/stories/200411290208.html

[gottaB]

1. According to that PIPA study

72% of Bush supporters didn't know that he opposes the Ottawa Convention.


An official explanation of US policy: http://allafrica.com/stories/200411291377.html

A critical press report of the US position: http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041127073541.nb6ju24p.xml