Key developments since May 2002: In
January 2003, the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan, in coordination with the
Ministry of Emergency Situations, initiated a community-based mine risk
education program in Batken Oblast. The Red Crescent, together with the ICRC,
conducted roundtables on landmines in Batken in February 2003 and in Bishkek in
March 2003.
Mine Ban Policy
Kyrgyzstan has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Antipersonnel mines are considered by the military as useful in protecting the
80 percent of the country’s borders that are at high altitude, with remote
and difficult-to-access paths—locations where it would not be possible to
station forces or border
guards.[1] The military does
not exclude the possibility of using antipersonnel mines at remote high altitude
border areas in order to block population migration, and to interdict drug
trafficking along mountainous paths from Tajikistan and
Afghanistan.[2] An official has
also cited the need for mines in counter-terrorist
operations.[3] Antipersonnel
mines are viewed as a cheap and available weapon, while the acquisition of
alternatives is seen as economically
impossible.[4]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Kyrgyzstan has not produced
or exported antipersonnel mines, but inherited a stockpile of antipersonnel
mines from the Soviet Union.[5]
Government officials acknowledge that Kyrgyzstan used antipersonnel mines in
1999 and 2000 to prevent infiltration across border
areas.[6] They state that all
the areas were demined.[7]
There are some alternative views in support of Kyrgyzstan joining the Mine
Ban Treaty. For example, Kyrgyz Parliamentarian Zainidin Kurmanov in March 2003
said that mines are no longer needed on the border, and called for urgent mine
clearance.[8]
Representatives of Kyrgyzstan attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties
in September 2002, but did not participate in 2003 intersessional Standing
Committee meetings. Kyrgyzstan abstained from voting on pro-Mine Ban Treaty UN
General Assembly Resolution 57/74 on 22 November 2002.
In December 2002, the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, International
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) Kyrgyz Committee, and
Kyrgyz Association of UN Assistance in Kyrgyzstan organized a “No Mine
Threat” conference to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the signing of
the Mine Ban Treaty. The IPPNW-Kyrgyz Committee also organized a photographic
exhibition on landmines in Batken, with funding provided by the Bishkek Rotary
Club. It was shown at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University from 2-9 May 2003,
and at the Gansi Air Base, where coalition forces are located, from 1-8
June.[9] The Netherlands Air
Force personnel at the air base donated four tons of clothing to residents of
mine-affected areas in Batken, which the local authorities and National Red
Crescent Society distributed in the villages of Chon-Kara, Sai, and
Tayan.[10]
Landmine Problem
In 1999 and 2000, Uzbekistan laid antipersonnel
mines on the border with Kyrgyzstan to prevent incursions by the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) rebel group. Uzbek minefields are emplaced inside
Kyrgyzstan around the Tajik enclave of Sokh, around the Shakhi-Mardan enclave,
and along other border areas. According to Kyrgyz border guards, two to three
mine explosions take place in the Sokh enclave on a monthly
basis.[11] Experts from the
Kyrgyz Parliament Committee for Security estimate the width of the mined areas
around Sokh and Shakhi-Mardan enclaves at not less than 250 meters, with high
mining density, from 2,000 to 3,000 mines (fragmentation OZM-72) per
kilometer.[12]
It is unclear whether there are still mines along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
In July 2003 a Ministry of Defense official said all Kyrgyz-laid landmines on
the border had been cleared.[13]
Mine Action
A law passed on 7 June 2001 forms the legal basis
for mine clearance in
Kyrgyzstan.[14] In February
2002, a Ministry of Defense official said that 320,000 square meters of
mine-affected land along the Uzbek border had been
cleared.[15] The Kyrgyz Army
has established a new engineer battalion and all large troop divisions have
specialist engineers attached. Engineer units in Osh have also been augmented
with additional troops.[16]
After the commission of border delineation completes its work, Kyrgyz Army
Engineering units will re-commence border
demining.[17]
In 2002, the Kyrgyz military reportedly began clearance in some areas, but,
according to the Kyrgyz Border Guard Service, stopped due to disputes about the
border. A representative of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense General Staff
reported that Kyrgyz demining efforts were halted due to the warnings from the
Uzbek border guards that “if we [Kyrgyzstan] clear mines they will replant
them there again.”[18]
In March 2003, it was reported that Kyrgyz border troops had cleared some
minefields laid by
Uzbekistan.[19] A Kyrgyz
Defense Ministry official, Tairbek Madymarov, said that the Uzbeks “stated
quite clearly that if the Kyrgyz personnel dug up and defused the mines, more
would be planted.”[20]
In January 2003, the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan, in coordination with
the Ministry of Emergency Situations, initiated a community-based mine risk
education (MRE) program in Batken Oblast. Red Crescent volunteers conduct MRE
trainings for adults and schoolchildren. The Red Crescent has produced and
disseminated information exhibits and billboards, as well as booklets, posters,
and updates.[21] The Red
Crescent, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has
also conducted roundtables on landmines, including in Batken on 14 February
2003, and in Bishkek on 5 March 2003. IPPNW-Kyrgyzstan has participated in
these meetings and also assisted in the preparation of the MRE training
materials.
Red Crescent Society volunteers, with support from the ICRC, placed warning
signs in mine-affected areas of the Batken region. According to Raisa
Ibragimova, Head of the Kyrgyz Red Crescent Society, this was done in response
to mine incidents in the area and will help to prevent future mine incidents.
Volunteers conducted field research to determine which areas require marking. In
addition to the warning signs, the volunteers also distributed mine risk
education posters and leaflets among local
residents.[22]
Landmine/UXO Casualties and Survivor Assistance
On 10 March 2002, a 13-year-old was killed while
playing with a hand grenade, found in a military training field, and in June
2002, a 14-year-old was killed and an 8-year-old injured while playing with a
piece of unexploded ordnance
(UXO).[23] On 23 February 2003,
a Kyrgyz civilian was killed when he stepped on a mine while herding livestock
seven kilometers west of Chon-Kara in the Batken
region.[24] From 1999 to 2003,
eleven landmine and UXO casualties have been
recorded.[25]
The public health system is free-of-charge in Kyrgyzstan. Landmine and UXO
casualties receive the same medical assistance as all other
patients.[26]
Kyrgyzstan does not have an orthotic and prosthetic center capable of fitting
artificial limbs to mine amputees. Mine survivors requiring such
treatment would have to travel to the Dushanbe Orthopedic Center in
Tajikistan, run by the
ICRC.[27] However, none of the
five mine survivors living in Batken region require artificial limbs and all
have received and continue to receive medical assistance. While physical
rehabilitation services exist, psychological and socio-economic support is less
available due to economic problems in the
country.[28]
All civilians with a disability are protected under common law and there are
no special laws or decrees for landmine survivors.
[1] Interview with Colonel Bukhov, Ministry
of Frontier Troops, Bishkek, 17 March
2003. [2] Statement by Madymarov
Tairbek, Ministry of Defense, to ICRC roundtable, Bishkek, 5 March
2003. [3] Statement by Arslanbek
Umentaliev, First Secretary, Department of International Security, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, to the regional conference on Landmines and the Explosive
Remnants of War, Moscow, 4 November 2002. Notes taken by Landmine Monitor
(HRW). [4] Statement by Mamkulov Erkin
Beishembievich, Head, CIS Countries Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to
ICRC roundtable, Bishkek, 5 March
2003. [5] Statement by Arslanbek
Umentaliev to regional conference, 4 November
2002. [6] Ibid. Few details are known
about the stockpile, which apparently includes PFM-1 and PFM-1S mines. See
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
687. [7] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 888. The military stresses that their practice of mapping minefields
ensures that mines can be removed. Statement by Madymarov Tairbek, Ministry of
Defense, to ICRC roundtable, 5 March
2003. [8] Sultan Jumagulov (Bishkek) and
Olga Borisova (Tashkent), “Uzbek-Kyrgyz border is still mined,”
Institute of War and Peace Reporting, No.192, 21 March
2003. [9] Galina Emelyanova,
“There is lowering sky above the border,” Respublica, 13 May 2003,
p. 7; Elena Avdeeva, “Land Must Bear Fruit Rather than Kill”,
Vechernii Bishkek, 3 June 2003, p.
1. [10] Interview with Kyal Sabitov,
Representative, National Red Crescent Society in Batken, 27 June
2003. [11] Aella Panfilova,
“Anclave Sokh–a Stumbling Point,” Eurasia Today, 6 May
2003. [12] Sultan Zhimagulov (Bishkek)
and Olga Borisova (Tashkent), “Kyrgyzstan Tries to Defend Itself from
Uzbek Mines,” Navigator (Kazakhstan), 14 March 2003, available at
www.navi.kz. [13]
Interview with Col. Daniyr Izbasarov, Director, Engineer Department, Ministry of
Defense, Bishkek, 3 July 2003. The Ministry of Defense reportedly said in 2001
that one remote minefield remained, which would be demined in the future.
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
689. [14] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p. 889. [15] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 690. [16] Interview with Col.
Daniyr Izbasarov, Director, Engineer Department, Ministry of Defense, Bishkek,
27 March 2003. [17]
Ibid. [18] Sultan Zhimagulov and Olga
Borisova, “Uzbek Mines,” Navigator, 14 March
2003. [19] “Kyrgyzstan to Patrol
Kazakh Border,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 13 March
2003. [20] Sultan Jumagulov and Olga
Borisova, “Uzbek Kyrgyz Border Danger,” 21 March
2003. [21] Interview with Nazira
Baratbaeva, Project Coordinator, National Red Crescent Society, Bishkek, 14
February 2002. [22] Sultan Zhimagulov
and Olga Borisova, “Uzbek Mines,” Navigator, 14 March
2003. [23] Oibek Khamidov,
“Teenager blown up,” Vechernii Bishkek, 13 March 2002; interview
with Anarbaev Abdysamin, Head of Batken Central Regional Hospital, 18 March
2002. [24] Alexandra Chernyh,
“Minister asks to open maps,” Moya Stolitza, 27 February 2003;
“Kyrgyz man dies from Uzbek-laid mine in disputed territory,”
Associated Press, 25 February 2003. [25]
Asel Otorbaeva, “To leave and not return,” Vechernii Bishkek, 12
March 2003. [26] Interview with Tajinisa
Shorohova, Deputy Director, Batken Hospital, Batken, 14 February 2003; see also
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
691. [27] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 691. [28] Interview with
Tajinisa Shorohova, Batken Hospital, 14 February 2003.