Key
developments since May 2000: A Level One Landmine Impact Survey was carried
out from September 2000-May 2001. The survey identified 530 mine-affected
communities in 27 provinces, and recorded 3,472 mine victims, including 350
injured or killed during the last two years. Since August 2000, two new
Humanitarian Mine Action Units have been organized, trained, and deployed. A
total of 69,346 stockpiled antipersonnel mines were destroyed from January
through June 2001. Thailand has decided to reduce the number of mines retained
for training to 4,970. In September 2000, Thailand became co-rapporteur of the
Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention. Thailand
has accused Myanmar forces of laying mines inside Thailand.
Thailand signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997, and deposited its instrument of ratification on 27 November 1998. The
treaty entered into force for Thailand on 1 May 1999. Thailand has not enacted
any new domestic legislation or other measures to implement the Mine Ban
Treaty.
Thailand continues to be active in the international arena, and
particularly in Southeast Asia, in support of a mine ban. Thailand participated
in the Second Meeting of States Parties (SMSP) in Geneva where the Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs, M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, led the Thai
delegation. In his statement, the Minister urged “non-signatory States to
join this Convention or, at the very least, to abide by the spirit thereof....
My hope is that our other friends in Southeast Asia will soon be able to join
and together we can make our region free of landmines in the very near
future....”[1]
Following the SMSP, Thailand accepted to serve as co-rapporteur of the
important Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention.
Thailand actively participated in the meetings of all the Standing Committees in
December 2000 and May 2001. Thailand voted for the pro-Mine Ban Treaty UN
General Assembly resolution in November 2000, as it had in previous
years.
Thailand submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 10
November 1999, an annual report on 2 May 2000, and another annual report on 17
April 2001 (covering calendar year 2000).
Thailand is in the process of
studying the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol
II on landmines.[2] It did not
send representatives to attend the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to
Amended Protocol II in December 2000 in Geneva.
The Thailand Mine Action
Center (TMAC) has received the royal patronage of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana
Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra, elder sister to His Majesty the
King.[3]
The Thailand
Campaign to Ban Landmines (TCBL) coordinated the release and distribution of the
Landmine Monitor Report 2000 within the region in September 2000. On 4
October, H.E. Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai received a copy of the full report,
as well as the Thailand Country Report in the Thai language, from the TCBL
Chairman and the Landmine Monitor researchers at Parliament House. On 11
October 2000 at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok, TCBL and
researchers from Thailand, together with the researchers for Burma, led an open
discussion on the country reports for Thailand and Burma. Panelists included
two landmine survivors from Sa Kaeo province, the researchers for the two
country reports, and a representative from TMAC.
From 18-20 January 2001,
ICBL campaigners and Landmine Monitor researchers from Southeast Asia and the
Pacific met in Bangkok, hosted by the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines. On 18
January they witnessed the destruction of 1,000 of Thailand's stockpiled
antipersonnel mines. On 19 January, the TCBL and Thai Ministry of Foreign
Affairs co-sponsored a roundtable, with reports from Landmine Monitor
researchers. The Director-General of TMAC and a senior official from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs made opening remarks and diplomatic representatives
from ten countries, including non-signatories Laos and Singapore, attended. A
regional report drawn from Landmine Monitor research, “ASEAN and the
Banning of the Antipersonnel Landmines,” and published by Nonviolence
International Southeast Asia was launched at the briefing. In the afternoon of
20 January, an ICBL campaigning meeting was held, facilitated by ICBL
Coordinator Liz Bernstein.
TCBL, Xavier Hall University Students Alumni and
Hand-in-Hand Foundation gathered signatures for theYouth Against War
Treaty, with a call for the United States government to accede to the Mine Ban
Treaty. A total of 9,881 signatures came from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ratchaburi,
Samut Songkhram, and Sa Kaeo provinces in January and February 2001. The
Hand-in-Hand Foundation organized a seminar on “Peace for which we
look” on 27 February at the Elephant Tower in Bangkok, and its network
gathered more signatures in public events during the first week of March 2001.
TCBL presented copies of the Thai signatures to the US Ambassador on 9 March
2001 in Bangkok.[4]
Production and Transfer
The Royal Thai Government states that it has never
produced antipersonnel landmines, although a number of different sources have
identified Thailand as a past
producer.[5] Some armed rebel
groups residing along the Thai-Burma border continue to produce, stockpile and
use antipersonnel
mines.[6]
Stockpiling and Destruction
In its most recent Article 7 report, Thailand
reported possessing 328,723 antipersonnel mines, as of 31 December
2000.[7] The following chart
is based on the Article 7
report.[8]
Stockpiled Antipersonnel Mines
Type
APMs stockpiled, including APM for training
APMs retained for training purposes
M2
35
30
M2 A4 B2
13
--
M4-5A-153B
7,800
800
M14
177,254
990
M16
85,952
100
M16A1
312
110
M26
34,016
1,760
Type 66
1,200
--
Type 69
9,183
100
Type72
5,866
100
PAM 2
2,847
--
VAR 40
960
--
VS 50
2,000
--
AP mine
60
1,000*
PMN
19
10
Non-Metallic
788
--
Chinese Type
418
--
328,723
5,000
* Royal Thai Navy did not specify the type of antipersonnel mines that they
retain for training
Following TMAC's request, the Royal Thai Military
proposed to reduce the number of mines to be retained for training purposes from
9,487 to 5,000; the decision was approved on 21 November
2000.[9] In announcing the
decision to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction in Geneva in
December 2000, Thailand noted that its decision came after concerns were raised
in previous Standing Committee meetings that the number was too
high.[10]
In a
presentation to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction on 10 May 2001
in Geneva, TMAC provided some updated
figures.[11] It reported that
20,000 antipersonnel mines had been destroyed in January and February 2001 (see
below), and that the number of antipersonnel mines in stockpile was 312,695,
including mines retained for
training.[12] The number of
retained mines was revised slightly to 4,970 (30 fewer M14s).
As reported
in Landmine Monitor Report 2000, Thailand destroyed 10,000 stockpiled
antipersonnel mines on 1 May 1999, and another 113 mines during the period
November 1999-January 2000.[13]
A total of 20,000 antipersonnel mines were destroyed between 18 January and 6
February 2001. Representatives of the diplomatic corps, foreign military
officers, various Thai authorities, mass media and NGOs, including Landmine
Monitor researchers from ASEAN and the Pacific, witnessed the initial
destruction of 1,000 M14 antipersonnel mines in a ceremony held on 18 January
2001. The destruction took place at the Artillery Training Field, Khao Phu
Lone, Military Artillery Center, RTA, in Lopburi
province.[14]
In May 2001,
another 27,346 antipersonnel mines were destroyed (22,000 RTA and 7,346 Police).
In June 2001, an additional 22,000 RTA mines were
destroyed.[15] Thus, at the end
of June 2001, Thailand had destroyed 79,459 stockpiled antipersonnel mines. The
cost of destruction per mine has been cited as Baht 9-9.55 (US $
0.21).[16]
TMAC’s
planned destruction schedule calls for destruction of: 13,982 mines in July
2001; 28,653 mines in August 2001; and the remaining 215,744 mines during the
next two fiscal years (1 October 2001-30 September 2002 and 1 October 2002-30
April 2003).[17] The Mine Ban
Treaty requires that Thailand destroy all of its stockpiled antipersonnel mines
by 1 May 2003.
Use
Thailand has accused Myanmar forces of laying mines
inside Thailand. A simmering border controversy between the two nations
escalated in February 2001 over a disputed piece of territory. Myanmar troops
and a proxy army of the Wa are both alleged to have planted mines in this
territory in the following months. The Thai government has lodged complaints
about the mine laying by Myanmar on several
occasions.[18]
Mine Action Funding
TMAC will receive 40 million Baht (approximately
US$900,000) from the National Budget for fiscal year October
2000–September 2001, which is 33% of its request. Major General Ronnachai
Srisuworanan, TMAC’s Deputy Director-General, stated, “For this
fiscal year which ended September 30, the government gave the centre 16 million
Baht. Next year it will receive 40 million Baht, although it asked for 120
million Baht.”[19] TMAC
has indicated that it does not have sufficient funds and resources to meet its
mine action needs, which it has estimated to cost nearly $13.8 million for the
period from 2000-2004.[20]
Although Thailand has called for “technical and financial support from
the international
community,”[21] no
additional funds, domestic or foreign, have been promised or received for fiscal
year 2000. The presence of a strong military component in TMAC has been
considered as the major cause of difficulties in seeking international
assistance.[22] The UN
Development Program is assisting TMAC to prepare a Project Proposal for
financial and technical
assistance.[23]
The UN and
the governments of the United Kingdom, United States and Germany have sponsored
TMAC personnel in short training programs and meetings related to the landmines
issue outside Thailand.[24]
In the past the United States helped establish TMAC and three training
centers; the US also provided 154 heavy trucks. In April 2001 tools and
equipment for the Humanitarian Mine Action Unit (HMAU) #1 (Sa Kaeo province)
were given.[25] The US reports
that it provided assistance totaling $1.75 million in its fiscal year 1999, and
$3.02 million in FY 2000.[26]
In FY 2000, the State Department provided funds for equipment and vehicles, the
Dog Program, and the Survey; the Defense Department conducted four training
missions (28 weeks) and trained 222 deminers. Starting July 2000, all training
programs, i.e. Manual Demining Training, Mine Awareness Training, and Mine
Detection Dog Training, have been supported by the US Humanitarian Demining
Program. A total of 493 personnel have been trained, including 10 Manual
Deminer Instructors, 361 Manual Deminers, 88 Mine Awareness Educators, 12 Mine
Detection Dog Handlers, 11 persons for Mechanical Assistance to Demining, 1 LAN
System Assistant, and 10 Computer
Trainees.[27]
TMAC has
reported the following funding for the Level One Impact
Survey:[28]
Norway $450,518
UK-DFID $449,700
US-DoS $308,105
(via UNFIP/UNMAS/UNOPS)
UN Foundation $154,052 (via
UNFIP/UNMAS/UNOPS)
Australia – AusAID $100,700
Canada –
DFAIT $100,000
QAM Finland $92,000
Total $1,655,075
Landmine Problem / Survey and Assessment
The Thailand Mine Action Center commissioned a
Level One Mine/UXO Survey: Thailand Landmine Impact Survey, which has
been carried out by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), in collaboration with
the TMAC and the Survey Action Center (which coordinates the Global Landmine
Survey initiative).
Initial set up of the program (procurement of equipment,
recruitment, training, testing, etc.) began on 1 June 2000. The actual survey
began in September 2000 in Sa Kaeo Province, and focused on the border regions
with Cambodia, Burma, Laos, and
Malaysia.[29] The survey was
completed in May 2001 and the final report is expected to be ready for
distribution at the end of September
2001.[30]
On 31 May 2001,
TMAC and NPA presented some preliminary results. The Level One Impact Survey
identified 530 mine-affected communities, including 69 where mines had a high
impact, 232 with medium impact, and 229 with low impact. In total, 47 provinces
were surveyed. Twenty-seven provinces were identified as mine-contaminated,
with a total population of 503,682. There are 295 mine-affected communities on
the Cambodian border, 135 on the Burmese border, and 90 on the Laotian
border.[31] A total of 933 mine
or UXO sites were identified covering a maximum area of 2,500 square
kilometers.[32] Nearly 3,500
victims were recorded, including 350 people injured or killed during the last 24
months.[33]
The survey
reported that in seven provinces along the Thai-Cambodian border, landmines and
unexploded ordnance affect 295 communities with a total population of 216,000; a
total of 457 contaminated areas were reported, comprising an area of about 1,823
square kilometers.[34] In one
village, Ban Nong Ya Kaeo in Sa Kaeo province, it was found that 90% of mine/UXO
contamination was within three kilometers of the
border.[35] In these seven
provinces, the survey recorded a total of 2,605 victims of whom 199 were injured
or killed during the last 24
months.[36]
In nine
provinces along the Thai-Laos border, 90 communities with a population of 56,000
were reported as mine/UXO-affected; 213 contaminated areas covering an area of
212 square kilometers were found. A total of 316 mine victims were recorded,
but only one over the last two
years.[37]
On the Thai side
of the border with Burma, 213 danger areas were identified; 541 mine victims
were recorded, including 150 in the last two years. The survey found that mine
contamination on the Malaysian border is “minimal” and “lower
than expected.” Four communities identified low impact. Ten mine
incidents were recorded, and none in the past two
years.[38]
The Level One
Survey has shown that mine-affected land includes mainly agricultural lands,
village lands, banks of rivers and canals, mountains and highlands and parts of
national forests.[39] The main
socio-economic impact is impaired access to forest resources, land for
cultivation and
pasture.[40]
Coordination of Mine Action
The new “National Committee for Humanitarian
Mine Action,” chaired by the former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and
present Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, established on 8 February 2000, has
not yet met.[41] However, on 17
August 2000, the secretary of the National Committee chaired an inter-agency
meeting to set the mine action policy of
Thailand.[42] TMAC met with all
relevant government agencies, NGOs and advisors on 6 February 2001 to further
consider enhancing coordination of mine action, mine awareness, and victim
assistance, and possible changes in the structure of TMAC.
In addition TMAC
will revise “The Master Plan on Humanitarian Mine Action of Thailand in
5-year Periods, No.1, 2000-2004” during the year 2001 based on the results
of the Level One
Survey.[43]
Mine Clearance
The United States has been working with the Royal
Thai Army on a “train the trainer” program, in order to develop a
Thai capacity to support humanitarian mine action operations. Combined US/Thai
instructors trained humanitarian demining trainers and other demining personnel
during four sessions from September 1999 through June 2000 at Ratchaburi. Three
Mine Awareness training courses were conducted in Lop Buri between September
1999 and May 2000. The first Mine Detection Dog (MDD) Handlers course started
in June 2000 at the Pak Chong Military Dog
Center.[44]
Since August
2000, two new Humanitarian Mine Action Units (HMAUs) have been organized,
trained, and assigned to two sub-areas on the Thai-Cambodian border:
Chanthaburi-Trad and Buriram-Surin provinces. Today there are eight HMA Units:
HMAU #s1-4 for the Thai-Cambodian border, HMAU #5 for the Thai-Laotian border,
HMAU #6 for the Thai-Burmese border, HMAU #7 for the Thai-Malaysian border, and
finally HMAU #8 for Border
Demarcation.[45]
The first
HMAU began mine action tasks in Ban Nong Ya Kaeo village, Khok Soong branch
district, Sa Kaeo province, in April 2000. The HMAU started mine awareness
operations on 1 April 2000, followed by Level Two Technical Survey Operations 1
May, and mine/UXO clearance operations 6 July 2000 at Ban Nong Ya Kaeo
village.[46] The site selected
received the highest impact rating score by the NPA Level One
Survey.[47] Its mine awareness
programs have covered border communities in Taphraya and Aranyaprathet
districts. HMAU#1 recorded 51 mines found between 9 July 2000 and 17 February
2001.[48] At the end of May
2001, HMAU#1 demining teams were focusing their activities in Nong ya Kaeo, the
most impacted community in Sa
Kaeo.[49]
Between July
2000-June 2001, the total number of mines/UXO cleared by Manual, MDD teams and
Mechanical Assistance is 934 mines, 1,269 UXO (excluding small arms ammunition),
and 1 booby-trap. Total area cleared by Manual & MDD teams is 18,417 square
meters; total area reduction by Manual & MDD teams with mechanical
assistance support is 24,810 square meters; total area Quality Assured using MDD
teams is 1,000 square
meters.[50]
Mine detecting
dog capacity at Pak Chong was enhanced by acquiring, training and deploying
twelve MDD Teams. Training in two MDD courses each for six teams produced 12
MDD teams of international standard for HMAU
#1.[51] Mechanical assistance
to demining capability was created with the deployment of two mechanical systems
for trial and evaluation. Two TEMPEST, remotely controlled mechanical
assistance machines, were delivered in October 2000. TEMPEST training for Thai
operators has been completed and both machines are conducting mechanical
assistance to demining operations at Ban Nong Ya Kaeo in support of HMAU #1.
Two Survivable Demining Tractor and Tools (SDTT) manned systems were delivered
in January 2001. The US government has provided training for mechanical
operators and maintainers. SDTT mechanical systems were first used for demining
operations during February
2001.[52]
The Canadian
Center for Mine Action Technologies delivered a Brush Deminer BDM48 (PROMAC), a
mechanical assistance machine, for trial and evaluation in May 2001. The BDM48
is designed for vegetation and soil mill operations. The one-month trial in Sa
Kaeo province proved successful and the machine, parts, as well as mechanical
support will be given to
Thailand.[53]
Spontaneous
demining by farmers and villagers has taken place over several years. The
survey identified numerous piles of mines and UXO covered in vines, under trees,
in fields, on the banks of canals and at collection points known to the
residents in various
village.[54]
There are no
specific plans delineating future use of cleared
land.[55]
Mine Awareness Education
The Second and Third HMAUs, organized and trained
by TMAC in 1999-2000, started mine awareness activities in August 2000 in
Chanthaburi and Surin
provinces.[56]
In Sa Kaeo
province, mine awareness activities are concentrated in three districts and one
branch district located at the Thai-Cambodian border. Responsibility for
provision of mine awareness education to local inhabitants has been divided
between TMAC/HMAU #1 and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
(ADPC).[57] Starting in April
2000 in Taphraya district and Khok Soong branch district, HMAU#1 had provided
mine awareness education to 26,200 villagers in 30 communities by August
2000.[58]
The ADPC has
organized six Mine Awareness Training Programs, one during each month starting
in July 2000, for local government officials in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo
province. Resource persons from TMAC and HMAU#1 have contributed input on mine
action, both with presentation of facts and figures as well as exposure to the
minefield, to participants of the training programs. TCBL and mine victims
residing in Sa Kaeo area also serve as resource persons. The first monthly
program for Khlong Hat district, Sa Kaeo province, was conducted in February
2001 and will continue until September 2001.
ADPC launched a Drawing
Competition for primary school pupils in Sa Kaeo province, which extended from
December 2000 until March 2001. The theme was “danger from
landmines/explosives;” winners will receive education
scholarships.
Handicap International (Thailand), together with the district
administration organization in Chanthaburi province, held a Mine Awareness Day,
featuring a Walk Campaign involving district primary level students on the
occasion of National Children’s Day, 12 January 2001. Over 400 residents
and local authorities participated in the event.[59]
Landmine survivors, using a
grant from AusAID, produced two hundred mine awareness signs that were intended
to be posted along the roads in Sa Kaeo province. The Australian Ambassador
erected a few symbolic ones in July 2000. Authorization from HMAU # 1 to post
the rest was delayed until April 2001 following consideration of the results of
the Level One Impact Survey.
The General Chatichai Choonhavan Foundation
has indicated willingness to support mine awareness and victim assistance
through TMAC; they initially presented three-wheeled handcars to some landmine
victims in November 2000.[60]
This foundation has started to support civilian demining and victim assistance
in Sa Kaeo province since February 2001.
Since September 2000, the
Hand-in-Hand Foundation with its nationwide radio program has worked with TCBL
on mine awareness education, which included some mine victims in Sa Kaeo
province and a broad range of radio interviews. A stage performance was
organized in Bangkok in October 2000 for which a part of the small proceeds were
used to help recent mine victims. Also in January 2001, TCBL coordinated the
visit of this Foundation and a group of reporters from leading newspapers to the
villages where there are mine victims. One of the leading papers reported on
the issue with supplementary information from the
trip.[61]
On 25 February TCBL
and Xavier Hall University Students Alumni organized a Seminar on the Landmine
Situation in Thailand for the general public, with presentations by two landmine
survivors, at Xavier Hall, Bangkok. Seventy-five attendees were secondary and
university students, academics, religious leaders and others, many of whom did
not realize Thailand had a landmine problem. Participants added signatures to
the Youth Against War campaign.
Landmine Casualties
The Landmine Impact Survey collected data on recent
landmine/UXO casualties and on casualties to date, which are higher than any
statistics previously
collected.[62] The survey
provided nationwide coverage with a particular focus on the border regions with
Cambodia, Burma, Laos, and Malaysia. The survey recorded 350
“recent” casualties and an overall total of 3,472
casualties.[63] Of these about
1,500 were killed, and about 2,000 remain disabled. Most of the accidents
occurred in the Thai-Cambodia border region, where 199 casualties were reported
during the last 24 months. Most victims were adult males, mostly farmers and
laborers. The main activity at the time of the accidents was collecting forest
resources or farming along the
border.[64] The current rate of
landmine and UXO casualties is 170 new victims each
year.[65]
TCBL has begun efforts to ensure that an NGO supplementary database on
landmine casualties, compatible with the National Database to be prepared and
kept by TMAC, is established and constantly updated. It is essential that it be
capable ofallowingaccess to the public and serve as a channel
for further practical assistance to the victims. Recording of mine accidents
within the Sa Kaeo area has started extending out from the seven groups of mine
victims, with whom TCBL has had close contacts, and is being expanded to cover
unknown, deceased, and recent cases.
Stories of landmine-maimed elephants
continued to appear in local news
articles.[67] Soraida Salwala,
Secretary-general of the Friends of Asian Elephants Foundation, said that there
are about 10 elephants previously
injured.[68] Plai Thong-in, the
bull elephant that stepped on a mine in the border area opposite Tak province in
April succumbed to his injuries on 4 June 2000. Mohay, aged 29, stepped on a
landmine injuring her left front leg on 1 February 2001 in Burma, directly west
of Phob Phra district, Tak
province.[69]
Survivor Assistance
TMAC organized a seminar on “Rights and
Benefits of Landmine Survivors” on 22 November 2000 in Bangkok with 150
participants from concerned government authorities (administrative, health care
and welfare), 38 landmine survivors from 19 mine-affected provinces,
representatives from central government offices and NGOs. This effort was a
first attempt by TMAC to coordinate activities on survivor assistance. The
program aimed at mine victims' learning of their rights and benefits while TMAC
hoped to learn about survivors’ problems, limitations, and specific needs.
The outcome of the program for the mine victims included specific
suggestions, appropriate direction, and guidelines for the upgrade of their
social integration and access to information on benefits. Government offices
were encouraged to improve their services to support mine victims, while TMAC
accelerated coordination with
them.[70]
The mobile unit of
the Prosthetics Foundation of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of the late
Princess Mother Foundation has provided free prostheses for
amputees.[71] In 1999,
ninety-four landmine victims received prostheses from three mobile services. In
Sa Kaeo province in June 2000, 200 landmine survivors received free
prostheses.[72] A special
three-week program in October 2000 on the occasion of the 100th
Birthday Anniversary of the late Princess Mother, was organized at Sanam Luang
(Great Park in front of the Grand Palace), Bangkok, with onsite medical care,
production, fitting and donation of over 1,000 artificial legs for the
disabled.[73] The schedule for
their mobile services in 2001 includes eight provinces in different border areas
of the country.[74]
Under
the program of the Social Investment Fund
(SIF),[75] the Government
Savings Bank supported the small economic projects of seven landmine survivor
groups through a revolving loan fund. The beneficiaries are in the process of
expanding the groups so that more landmine survivors may benefit from the fund.
The Government Savings Bank, in addition, allocated a one-year scholarship to
two hundred children from among the families of landmine survivors. The fund
has relieved the burden of most of the landmine survivors which include many
school-age children.
Three small groups of landmine survivors received
funds beginning in July 2000 from a small revolving fund established under a
grant from the Australian Agency for International Development. Two of the
groups have been successful in pig-raising and fish-farming, and the fund has
been increased with the profits they
made.[76]
Thai
athletes, many of whom were landmine victims, participated in the Paralympics
2000 in Australia in October 2000 gaining great admiration from the government
and the general public after winning several medals from the event.
Disability Policy and Practice
A national disability law, titled “Laws on
Rehabilitation of Thai Disabled Persons,” has been in place while several
draft laws appropriate to landmine victims are under consideration and await
approval, including sections on upgrading the living standard and rights of
disabled persons.[77] The
Ministry of Education, together with the Council of Disabled People of Thailand,
is drafting a law on the establishment of a fund for education of the disabled
and of less fortunate
people.[78]
In February
2001, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and the World Committee on
Disability selected Thailand as the recipient of the 2001 Franklin Delano
Roosevelt International Disability Award. The award was given to Thailand in
recognition that Thailand has implemented the 1991 Law on Rehabilitation of
Disabled Persons, and that Thailand signed the UN Declaration of Rights of
Disabled Persons on 3 December 1998 (on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of
the UN Declaration of Human
Rights).[79]
[1] H.E. Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, “Statement of the Head of
Delegation of Thailand to the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa
Convention,” Geneva, 12 September
2000.
[2] Email from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok, 15 December
2000.
[3] H.E. Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, “Statement of the
Head of Delegation of Thailand to the Second Meeting of States Parties to the
Ottawa Convention,” Geneva, 12 September
2000.
[4] “Mobilizing
collaboration for destruction of landmines,” (in Thai Language) X-cite
Section, Thai Post, 28 February 2001, p.
3.
[5] For details, see
Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p.
376.
[6] See Landmine Monitor
2001 Burma/Myanmar
Report.
[7] Article 7 report,
Form B, for the period 1 January – 31 December 2000, submitted 17 April
2001. There appears to have been a substantial revision in Thailand’s
reported stockpile from its previous Article 7 report. Though the previous
report did not include an overall total, Landmine Monitor added up the 33-page
list of antipersonnel mines to a total of 411,625. That total included 39,761
M18A1Claymore mines. The new Article 7 report no longer includes Claymore
mines. But even subtracting the Claymore mines, there are 43,141 fewer mines
reported to be in stock in the new report than in the previous report.
[8] In its presentation to
the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction on 10 May 2001 in Geneva, a
chart was produced with similar numbers, except it indicated that the Thailand
National Police Department held 487 fewer M14 mines and 11 more M16 mines than
listed in the Article 7 report, for a total of 328,247 antipersonnel mines (all
prior to the destruction of 20,000 antipersonnel mines in January/February
2001). Thailand Mine Action Center, Presentation of Lt. Gen. Dr. Vasu Chanarat,
Director General of TMAC, Geneva, 7-11 May 2001, p.
11.
[9] TMAC letter
requesting a reduction in the number of antipersonnel mines to be retained in
stockpiles, made to the Supreme Command, JOC, 9 November 2000; Thailand’s
Intervention in the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 7
December 2000. Thailand’s Article 7 report had originally indicated that
15,604 mines would be retained, but that figure included 6,117 Claymore mines.
The Claymores will be kept, but the 5,000 figure no longer includes
Claymores.
[10]
Thailand’s Intervention in the Standing Committee on Stockpile
Destruction, Geneva, 7 December
2000.
[11] Thailand Mine
Action Center, Presentation of Lt. Gen. Dr. Vasu Chanarat, Director General of
TMAC, Geneva, 7-11 May 2001. See especially pp.
11-13.
[12] Ibid, p. 12.
There appears to be a discrepancy. The Article 7 report indicated 328,723
antipersonnel mines. If 20,000 were subsequently destroyed, the number
remaining in stock would be 308,723, and not 312,695. Landmine Monitor has
learned that the Thailand National Police Department reviewed its number after
submission of the Article 7 report and increased its total by 2,972 mines,
accounting for all but 1,000 mines of the discrepancy.
[13]Landmine Monitor
Report 2000, p. 435, provides details on mine types and destruction
process.
[14] Lt. Gen. Vasu
Chanarat, TMAC Director General, “Humanitarian Mine Action in
Thailand,” Antipersonnel Landmine Stockpiles Demolition Ceremony, Lopburi
Province, 18 January
2001.
[15] Landmine Monitor
researchers observed one day each of the destruction of by antipersonnel mines
by the RTA at Lopburi on 22 May and at Pak Chong, Nakhorn Rajasima province on
13 June 2001. Schedule of latest destruction: 15 May-11 June by RTA at Nakhorn
Sawan: 20,000 mines; 17 May-15 June by RTA at Pak Chong, Nakhorn Rajasima
province: 22,000 mines; 21 May – 2 June by Police at Cha-am, Petchburi
province: 7,346 mines.
[16]
Thailand Mine Action Center, Presentation of Lt. Gen. Dr. Vasu Chanarat,
Director General of TMAC, Geneva, 7-11 May 2001, p. 14; Lt. Gen. Vasu Chanarat,
TMAC Director General, “Humanitarian Mine Action in Thailand,”
Antipersonnel Landmine Stockpiles Demolition Ceremony, Lopburi Province, 18
January 2001.
[17] Lt. Gen.
Ronnachai Srisuworanan,, TMAC Deputy Director General, Letter to TCBL dated 25
May, “On Updated Information on Royal Thai Government Stockpiled Landmines
for TMAC’s Committee on Stockpile Destruction,” with detailed
attachments, subsequently approved by the Committee meeting on 5 June 2001. See
also, Thailand Mine Action Center, Presentation of Lt. Gen. Dr. Vasu Chanarat,
Director General of TMAC, Geneva, 7-11 May 2001, pp. 12-13. This gives number
of mines to be destroyed and retained by each service (Army, Navy, Air Force,
Police).
[18] Interviews with
officials at the Thai Foreign Ministry; Wassana Nanuam, “Wa took hill to
protect drug plants,” Bangkok Post, 12 May
2001.
[19] Saritdet
Marukatat, “Mine Action Centre needs more funds,” Bangkok
Post, 30 August 2000. 16 million Baht = US$355,555; 40 million Baht =
US$888,888 120 million Baht =
US$2,666,666.
[20] Thailand
Mine Action Center/JOC 107, The Master Plan Summary on Humanitarian Mine
Action of Thailand in 5-year Periods, No. 1 2000-2004, (TMAC, Bangkok,
2000), p. 8. The biggest expenditure is expected to be survey and clearance
operations ($7.2 million), and equipment ($3.9
million).
[21] H.E. Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, “Statement of the
Head of Delegation of Thailand to the Second Meeting of States Parties to the
Ottawa Convention,” Geneva, 12 September
2000.
[22]
Ibid.
[23] TMAC, Master Plan
Summary, p. 2; J.K. Robert England, UNDP Resident Representative at a
presentation at TMAC, Bangkok, 23 January 2001.
[24] Fax from TMAC to
Landmine Monitor/Thailand, 12 December
2000.
[25] Lt. Gen. Vasu
Chanarat , TMAC Director General, presentation of “Humanitarian
Mine Action in Thailand” at Anti-Personnel Landmine Stockpiles Demolition
Ceremony, Lopburi Province, 18 January
2001.
[26] US Department of
State, “Demining Program Financing History,” dated 24 October 2000.
For FY 2000, the State Department provided $1.22 million and the Defense
Department $1.8 million. The State Department’s funds went to Equipment
and Vehicles ($500,000), Dog Program ($500,000), Level II Survey ($100,000),
Facilities Refurbishment ($70,000), and Regional Initiative ($50,000). See
State Department, “FY2000 NADR Project Status,” dated 27 December
2000.
[27] Email responses
from Dave McCracken, Mine Action Technical Advisor, TMAC, Bangkok, 27 and 29
June 2001.
[28] Fax from
TMAC, 27 June 2001.
[29] Guy
Rhodes, Norwegian People’s Aid, to TCBL, 26 June
2000.
[30] Dr. Rune Engeset,
NPA’s Deputy Team Leader, Presentation of NPA’s Preliminary Report
on Level One Impact Survey in Thailand to the Thai Senators during their visit
to Ban Nong Ya Kaeo demining site, Sa Kaeo Province, 15 December
2000.
[31] Press Release from
TMAC/NPA on Thailand Landmine Impact Survey, Thailand Preliminary Results, 31
May 2001; Guy Rhodes, NPA/TMAC Impact Survey Final Presentation , Bangkok, 31
May 2001.
[32] Guy Rhodes,
NPA/TMAC Impact Survey Final Presentation, Bangkok, 31 May
2001.
[33] Press Release from
TMAC/NPA on Thailand Landmine Impact Survey, Thailand Preliminary Results, 31
May 2001.
[34] Press Release
from TMAC/NPA on Thailand Landmine Impact Survey, Thailand-Cambodia Border, 1
May 2001. The provinces are Trad, Chantaburi, Sa Kaeo, Buriram, Surin, Sisaket,
and Ubon Ratchathani. “All provinces suffer very badly, in particular Si
Saket and Sa Kaeo,” says the
release.
[35] Guy Rhodes, NPA
Program Manager, presentation on Level One Survey updates at TMAC, Bangkok, 23
January 2001.
[36] Press
Release from TMAC/NPA on Thailand Landmine Impact Survey, Thailand-Cambodia
Border, 1 May 2001.
[37]
Press Release from TMAC/NPA on Thailand Landmine Impact Survey, Thailand-Laos
Border, 10 May 2001. The provinces of Phayao and Nan suffer most; Loei, Non Bua
Lamphu, Udon Thani, and Nong Khai “have very limited problems that may be
eliminated with little effort.” Others are Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, and
Petchabun.
[38] Guy Rhodes,
NPA/TMAC Impact Survey Final Presentation, Bangkok, 31 May
2001.
[39] Guy Rhodes,
Norwegian People’s Aid presentation at TMAC’s Meeting on Progress in
Implementation, 23 January
2001.
[40] Press Release from
TMAC/NPA on Thailand Landmine Impact Survey, Thailand Preliminary Results, 31
May 2001.
[41] Verbal reply
of Gen. Vasu Chanarat, Director-General of TMAC to Landmine Monitor/Thailand,
Bangkok, 29 November
2000.
[42] Email from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok, 15 December
2000.
[43] Telephone
conversation with senior TMAC personnel, 21 February
2001.
[44] Dave McCracken,
Advisor, TMAC, 20 July
2000.
[45] Presentation of
Lt.Gen.Dr.Vasu Chanarat, Director General of TMAC at SC in Geneva Switzerland,
May 2001.
[46] Dave
McCracken, TMAC, 20 July 2000. McCracken has described HMAU#1 at Sa Kaeo
province as a pilot project designed to bring together skills and capacities
necessary for integrated mine action to international standards. He said
equipment and operational support for the unit’s first year deployment
will be provided to complete the basic toolbox needed to address all Mine Action
issues, develop experience and a model from which further mine action capacity
can be based. Dave McCracken, Mine Action Technical Advisor, TMAC, Bangkok, 3
February 2001.
[47] Telephone
interview with senior TMAC personnel, 21 February
2001.
[48] Document titled
“Mines found by 1st HMAU,” provided by Col. Niran
Phipitkul, Deputy Commander of HMAU #1, 26 February 2001. There were thirty-two
Type 69 mines, five NR-409, some MK2, PMN, POMZ, M97, RPG-2, M6, and German 82
mm and 105 mm.
[49] Guy
Rhodes, NPA/TMAC Impact Survey Final Presentation, slide 22, Bangkok, 31 May
2001.
[50] Email responses
from Dave McCracken, Mine Action Technical Advisor, TMAC, Bangkok, 27 and 29
June 2001.
[51] Dave
McCracken, Mine Action Technical Advisor, TMAC, Bangkok, 3 February
2001.
[52]
Ibid.
[53] Telephone
Interview with Dave McCracken, Mine Action Technical Advisor, TMAC, Bangkok, 26
June 2001.
[54] Guy Rhodes,
Program Manager of NPA Survey team’s presentation to a meeting organized
by TMAC on Progress Report of Operations for Government Officials and NGOs, 23
January 2001.
[55] Telephone
interview with senior TMAC personnel, 21 February
2001.
[56] TMAC’s
Report to the Second Meeting of States Parties, distributed at the Second
Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 11-15 September 2000, p.
38.
[57] Landmine
Monitor/Thailand discussion with ADPC personnel, Aranyaprathet, Sakaeo Province,
25 October 2000.
[58] Col.
Niran Phipitkul, Deputy Commander of HMAU#1, presentation to H.E. Mr. Richard
Hecklinger, US Ambassador to Thailand, on his visit to the Burapha Field Force,
Wattana Nakhorn, Sakaeo Province, 29 August
2000.
[59] Duangkamol
Ponchamni, HI Thailand Director, Report on Activities of Handicap International
(Thailand) at the ASEAN- Pacific Islands LM 2001 researchers briefing for
diplomats, TMAC, Bangkok, 19 January
2001.
[60] Suthikiat
Sophanik, Member and Honorary Treasurer of the General Chatichai Choonhavan
Foundation, presentation at a meeting of Advisors to TMAC, 23 January
2001.
[61] “After wars,
Sa Kaeo is left with mine-fields,” (in Thai language) Thai Rath
Newspapers, 17 January 2001, pp.1,
5.
[62] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, p 441. This can be attributed to several factors
including: under-reporting, many injured or killed never reach the hospitals and
are therefore not registered; record-keeping by government ministries cannot
reach as deep into all communities at village-level as the Landmine Impact
Survey was able to; and mainly because of a lack of
resources.
[63] Recent
victims are defined as mine victims from the past 24 months starting from when
the victims were reported to survey teams by villages visited by the teams. The
survey team visits that started in September 2000 were completed in April 2001
so the period for the recent 350 victims is approximately in the period from
September 1998 to April 2001. The 3,122 less recent victims are those reported
by villages to survey teams from periods before the past 24 months. Guy Rhodes,
NPA/TMAC Impact Survey Final Presentation, Bangkok, 31 May
2001.
[64] Guy Rhodes,
NPA/TMAC Impact Survey Final Presentation, Bangkok, 31 May
2001.
[65]
Ibid.
[66]
Ibid.
[67] “Elephant
succumbs to landmine injuries,” Bangkok Post, 6 June 2000, p.4;
“Thong In dies from infection,” The Nation, 7 June 2000, p.
4.
[68] “Demine these
underground dangerous menaces – Landmines!” (in Thai Language),
Daily News, 6 February 2001, pp. 1,
3.
[69] Documented Report
from the Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, Bangkok, 6 February
2001.
[70] Letter from
TMAC’s Director-General, to TCBL, with enclosed document on “Outcome
of the Seminar on Benefits of Landmine Survivors,” 30 November
2000.
[71] TCBL has made a
request to the Foundation for the number of landmine survivors being provided
with prostheses over the past recent years. The official data is still being
compiled, but it indicates that landmine accidents are the leading cause of
amputation. Fax from the Prosthetics Foundation under the Royal Patronage of
the Princess Mother, Chiang Mai Province, 28 February
2001.
[72] “Cans turned
into limbs for mine victims,” The Nation, 18 August 2000, p. A3;
“Recycled limbs,” Bangkok Post, 22 August 2000. See also
Thailand’s Article 7 report, Form J, submitted 17 April
2001.
[73] “Aiding the
handicapped,” The Nation, 2 October 2000; “Act of
Charity,” The Nation, 20 October 2000, p.1. See also
Thailand’s Article 7 report, Form J, submitted 17 April 2001, which
indicates 31 mine victims received free prostheses on 19 October
2001.
[74] Fax from the
Prosthetics Foundation under the Royal Patronage of the Princess Mother, Chiang
Mai province, 29 January
2001.
[75] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, pp.
442-443.
[76] Siriphen
Limsirikul, Community Facilitator, TCBL Victim Assistance Project 2000,
Concluding Report to AusAID, 23 April
2001.
[77] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, pp.
442-443.
[78] Fax from the
Council of Disabled People of Thailand, Bangkok, 28 February
2001.
[79] Warakorn Samkoses,
“Thailand receives FDR International Disability Award,” (in Thai
language) Matichon (daily newspaper), 1 March 2001.
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