Key developments since May 2003:Greece ratified the Mine an
Treaty on 25 September 2003 and became a State Party on 1 March 2004.
Ratification makes the Mine Ban Treaty part of Greek legislation, according to
the Ministry of Defense. On 7 July 2004, Greece submitted its initial Article 7
transparency report, in advance of the treaty deadline. In the report, Greece
gave a revised total of 1,566,532 for its stockpile of antipersonnel mines.
Greece intends to retain 7,224 antipersonnel mines for training purposes. In
2003, 643,201 square meters of mine-contaminated land were cleared in northern
Greece. In 2003, Greece reported providing mine action funding of €4.45
million ($5 million), an increase from 2002.
Key developments since 1999:Greece ratified the Mine Ban
Treaty on 25 September 2003, the same day as Turkey in accordance with an April
2001 agreement between the two countries. From 2000–2002, Greece cleared
3.7 million square meters of mined land. Greece completed clearance of its
border with Bulgaria in December 2001. Greece intends to maintain defensive
minefields on the border with Turkey, so it is removing antipersonnel mines from
the existing mixed minefields, and replacing them with antivehicle mines. In
1999–2003,Greece provided more than $7.3 million in mine action
funding. Since 1999, at least 67 foreign nationals have been killed or injured
by landmines in Greece. In 2003, 12 new landmine casualties (ten killed and two
injured) were reported.
Mine Ban Policy
Greece signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 25
September 2003. At the same time, Turkey deposited its instrument of accession,
fulfilling an agreement between the countries in April 2001 to proceed together
to become States Parties. The treaty entered into force for both Greece and
Turkey on 1 March 2004.[1]
Upon signing the treaty, Greece declared that ratification would take place
when the regional security situation improved, and the difficulties and costs of
removing old minefields were judged
acceptable.[2] Prior to this,
Greece attended preparatory meetings of the Ottawa Process only as an observer;
it favored the Conference on Disarmament as a forum for negotiating on
landmines. After signing, political parties and civil society in Greece did not
campaign strongly on the issue, which had a low public profile until 2002 when
local NGO activity and international pressure increased. On 19 March 2002,
Parliament voted unanimously to ratify the
treaty.[3]
Ratification makes the Mine Ban Treaty part of Greek legislation, according
to the Ministry of Defense.[4]
In its initial Article 7 transparency report in July 2004, Greece did not
include details of any legislative or administrative measures necessary for
implementation of the treaty, nor specify the parts of the existing criminal
code that Greece considers provide the penal sanctions for treaty violations
required by Article 9 of the treaty.
Greece has participated in all annual Meetings of States Parties since 1999
and all intersessional Standing Committee meetings since December 2000. At the
Standing Committee meetings in May 2002, Greece reported on its stockpile of
antipersonnel mines and on clearance of mine-affected
areas.[5] Greece has voted in
favor of every pro-Mine Ban Treaty UN General Assembly resolution since
1997.
On 7 July 2004, Greece submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report,
in advance of the deadline of 28 August. This confirmed details of its
stockpile of antipersonnel mines, the types of mine to be retained for permitted
purposes, and the number of mines in minefields, which Greece provided in a
verbal note to the UN on 23 June
2004.[6]
Greece is a member of the Human Security Network, which promotes the Mine Ban
Treaty and encourages non-party States to join the treaty. Greece participated
in regional landmine conferences in June 1999 (in Croatia) and June 2000 (in
Slovenia). In October 2001, Greece hosted a NATO Partnership for Peace seminar
on regional mine action.
On 30 October 2003, the Greek National Commission for Human Rights adopted a
resolution urging the government to proceed to the elimination of antipersonnel
mines in Greece, the destruction of its stockpiles, and “the absolute
avoidance of their use,” in accordance with the Mine Ban
Treaty.[7]
Greece is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and
its Amended Protocol II. It attended the Fifth Annual Conference of States
Parties to the Protocol in November 2003. It submitted its annual report
required by Article 13 of the Protocol submitted on 12 November 2003. Greece
has attended the annual conferences of States Parties and submitted Article 13
reports in previous years. In other CCW work, Greece has supported the
negotiation and adoption of Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.
Production and Transfer
Prior to becoming a State Party, Greece had a moratorium on production and
export of antipersonnel mines for a number of years. Legislation was not needed
for the moratorium, as administrative measures were taken to refuse the licenses
needed for production and
export.[8]
Greece formerly produced and exported at least one type of antipersonnel
mine, a copy of the US M16A2. It also imported antipersonnel mines from the US
in 1973–1981, including 18,144 ADAM artillery-delivered mines in 1988, and
more than 30,000 M16s; 5,500 M14s; and M18A1 Claymore
mines.[9]
Stockpiling and Destruction
In its July 2004 Article 7 report, Greece gave a revised total of 1,566,532
for its stockpile of antipersonnel mines, composed of five types: M2 (214,374),
DM31 (794,400), M16 (553,359), M14 (3,895), and ADAM artillery shells
(504).[10] In March 2003, the
Ministry of Defense had estimated the stockpile to total 1,078,557, excluding
the ADAM.[11] At the Standing
Committee meetings in June 2004, Greece estimated the total stockpile as
1,506,028, excluding ADAM.[12]
Each ADAM artillery projectile contains 36 individual antipersonnel mines, thus
the 504 shells cited by Greece would contain 18,144 mines, bringing the
stockpile total to 1,584,172.
Various methods of stockpile destruction have been examined, focusing on the
options of transporting the mines to a foreign destruction facility or of
requesting the assistance of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency. The first
option is estimated to cost approximately €4 million, plus €1
million for transportation (approx. $5.7
million).[13]
The deadline set by the Mine Ban Treaty for Greece to complete destruction of
its antipersonnel mine stockpile is 1 March 2008.
Greece announced in June 2004 that it will opt to retain some mines for
training and development purposes, as permitted by Article 3 of the treaty. The
quantity retained will be 7,224, on the grounds that the mine clearance to be
carried out in the coming years will require substantial training
activities.[14] The initial
Article 7 report detailed the mines to be retained as M2 (1,512), DM31 (1,512),
M16 (420) and M14
(3,780).[15]
Landmine Problem
Greece has maintained minefields on its northern border with Turkey, along
the Evros River, since the mid-1970s. On 23 June 2004, Greece revealed
that there are 24,751 antipersonnel mines (2,162 M2s and 22,589 M16s) in the
Evros minefields.[16]
Greece also laid minefields on and near its border with Bulgaria after World
War II. Areas of the Epirus, Grammos, and Vitsi mountains in northern Greece
remain contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) dating from the
Greek civil war (1947–1949) and World War II. Over 40,000 hectares (400
square kilometers) of the Grammos and Vitsi are suspected as being
mine/UXO-contaminated.[17] A
press report in October 2001 described the Epirus, Grammos and other mountains
in the western Macedonia region as “still not safe for anyone crossing the
slopes....”[18] There are
also nine mine/UXO-suspected areas in the Aegean islands and five suspected
areas on the mainland, plus Yaros island which was used previously as a
test-firing range.[19]
According to a Defense official, there are a total of 41 areas in Greece
suspected to be mine/UXO-contaminated, mostly in the Grammos and Vitsi
mountains, and 28 known minefields in the Grammos and Vitsi which will be
cleared and given for public
use.[20]
The minefields on the border with Turkey are reported to be clearly defined
and marked.[21] Minefields on
the border with Bulgaria were also mapped and marked; in some cases, there are
mined areas well away from the
border.[22] In the Macedonian
and Epirus regions, Greece reported in November 2003 that: “There are no
properly defined minefields in this area and no maps, the number of dangerous
devices to be removed is very
large.”[23]
Mine Clearance
In 2003, 643,201 square meters of mine-contaminated land were cleared in
northern Greece, excluding the Evros
minefields.[24] In 2002,
66,000 square meters were
cleared.[25]
Clearance of antipersonnel mines from the Evros minefields started in
September 2003, immediately after ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty, according
to a Defense official. Greece intends to maintain defensive minefields on the
border with Turkey, so it is removing antipersonnel mines from the existing
mixed minefields, and replacing them with antivehicle mines. Officials have
stressed that “standard” antivehicle mines, without antihandling
devices, are being used. By March 2004, 11 minefields had been re-laid in this
way. One minefield which had contained only antipersonnel mines was left clear
of any mines. In 2004, Greece planned to clear/convert ten more minefields on
the Evros.[26]
The Ministry of Defense planned to survey and assess the mine/UXO
contamination in the Aegean islands, Yaros, and five mainland
areas.[27]
Greece and Bulgaria agreed in November 1997 to remove mines from the common
border. Greece completed manual clearance on its side of the border in December
2001 at an estimated cost of €5.7 million over the period October
1997–December 2001. Thirty-eight minefields were cleared, with 16,181
antipersonnel mines and 12,409 antivehicle mines removed. Twenty-five of the
minefields were being re-checked in
2002–2003.[28]
Mine/UXO clearance is carried out by the Land Minefield Clearance Battalion,
which was formed in 1954. It includes 16 teams each composed of eight men and
an Engineer officer. Manual clearance techniques are used. In 2004, four of
the teams were working on the Evros minefields. In 2005, five teams will be
deployed to the Evros.[29] From
1954 to 2002, demining activities have cleared more than 150 square kilometers
of land and disposed of 250,000 mines and other munitions. Greece reported that
in 2000–2002, 3.7 square kilometers were demined or area reduced, during
which 16,000 antipersonnel and 14,000 antivehicle mines were cleared and 18,000
UXO destroyed or
neutralized.[30]
The deadline set by the Mine Ban Treaty for Greece to clear all mined areas
under its jurisdiction or control is 1 March 2014.
Mine Action Funding and Assistance
In 2003, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its Service for
International Development Cooperation provided €4,445,216 ($5,029,762) to
the Greek NGO, International Mine Initiative (IMI), for mine clearance in Bosnia
and Herzegovina (€1,660,620), Iraq (€1 million), and Lebanon
(€884,596 in Nabatiyeh and €900,000 in South
Lebanon).[31] Additionally, the
Croatian Mine Action Center records receipt in 2003 of a donation from Greece of
KN6,245 (approx. $930) for mine victim
assistance.[32]
In 2002, Greece donated €1,495,846 ($1,421,054) to IMI for operations
in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Lebanon, $80,000 to the UN Voluntary Fund for
Assistance in Mine Action, and mine detection equipment to the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia.[33] In
2001, Greece donated €880,411 ($790,609) to IMI for demining in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.[34]
IMI was founded in 2000. It has carried out several demining projects in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and started demining operations in Lebanon in 2002 and
in Iraq in 2003. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, IMI reported clearing 150,000
square meters in Brcko District and clearing 337,467 square meters in
Sarajevo.[35] The Bosnia and
Herzegovina Mine Action Center (BHMAC) reported that in 2003 IMI cleared 55,351
square meters on which it located five antipersonnel mines in three projects.
BHMAC reports that in 2002, IMI cleared 169,665 square meters in four projects
in Brcko District.[36] In
Lebanon, IMI reported completing clearance of 99,230 square meters and
neutralization of 288 antipersonnel mines, 199 antivehicle mines and 15 UXO near
Arnoun in Nabatiyeh
district.[37]
In 2003 as in 2002, Greek Army deminers took part in the International
Security Assistance Force in
Afghanistan.[38] Greek Army
deminers were also involved in mine clearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the
context of the international Stabilization Force in 2002. In 2001, Greek
personnel in the Kosovo Protection Force provided mine risk education for local
people.
Greece has hosted NATO demining seminars, in May 200 and May 2001. In 1998,
it established the Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Center near
Kilkis in northern Greece, which includes training on mine-related matters and
international humanitarian
law.[39]
Landmine Casualties
There is no comprehensive data collection mechanism for mine casualties in
Greece. In 2003, the media reported 12 new landmine casualties, including ten
killed and two injured. On 4 January, two Burundian immigrants were killed and
another was severely injured after they strayed into an Evros minefield near
Marassia.[40] One Somali was
killed and another was injured on 26 March, and seven Pakistanis were killed on
29 September.[41] All the
casualties were attempting to enter the country across the Evros River on the
northern border with Turkey.
Casualties continue to be reported in 2004. On 30 May, a Moldovan immigrant
was killed and another was injured in an Evros minefield described as
double-fenced and with warning
signs.[42] On 5 August, a
Palestinian immigrant was killed and six Palestinian and Moroccan immigrants
were injured while attempting to cross minefields on the Evros border with
Turkey.[43]
On 15 October 2001, two Army mine clearers were killed while defusing a mine
near Petritsi, Serres, on the Bulgarian
border.[44] In May 2002, Greece
reported that during mine/UXO clearance operations since 1954, 30 personnel have
been killed and 17 seriously
injured.[45]
Between 1999 and 2002, Landmine Monitor has identified at least 46 foreign
civilian mine casualties (24 killed and 26 injured) in Greece: four killed and
six injured in 2002; ten killed and four injured in 2001; three killed in 2000;
and five killed and 16 injured in 1999. This collation of data from media
reports may well under-represent the true number of
casualties.[46]
Greece has stated that fencing and marking of minefields along the border
between Greece and Turkey has been improved and that it now exceeds NATO
standards. Based upon the number of migrants arrested, Greece estimated that
these measures have resulted in reduction of mine accidents by almost 90
percent.[47] Official
statistics reportedly indicate that these minefields have killed 40 people and
injured about 30 others since
1996.[48]
Survivor Assistance
Greece reports that mine survivors receive full rehabilitative assistance,
including prosthetic services and all expenses are covered through the national
health system.[49] In practice,
however, while emergency medical care is provided free of charge as part of the
national health system, there is no evidence of funding provision for
prostheses, prosthesis repair, and for long-term care and rehabilitation.
Mine casualties in the southern part of the Evros border area are usually
treated at Alexandroupolis University Hospital, and in the central and northern
sections at Didymoteichon General and Army Hospitals. Ministry of Defense
medical personnel provide immediate medical assistance and casualties are
evacuated from the minefield by the Landmine Clearance
Battalion.[50] In 2003, the
Landmine Monitor reported that no prostheses are available in hospitals in
northeastern Greece, and some hospitals seek private sponsorship to finance
prosthetic provision. The cost of treating 15 mine survivors was estimated at
€38,179 ($43,200) in general nursing care
alone.[51]
At the April 2004 Médecins du Monde-Hellas (MdM-Hellas) conference on
the treatment of mine casualties, a representative of mine survivors said that
the provision of prostheses and rehabilitation services was entirely dependent
on the philanthropic efforts of medical staff, local communities and churches.
MdM-Hellas pointed out that many mine survivors, as asylum seekers entering
Greece illegally, are faced with months of imprisonment and deportation.
MdM-Hellas pointed out that the Mine Ban Treaty requires States Parties to
protect and provide assistance “for the care and rehabilitation, and
social and economic reintegration, of mine
victims....”[52] In
February 2004, the Landmine Monitor researcher wrote to the then-Minister of
Foreign Affairs, George Papandreou, pointing out Greece’s treaty
obligations and the lack of provision for mine survivors in Greece.
A member of the Greek Council for Refugees said that there are no clear State
guidelines on medical services for landmine victims after the provision of
primary and emergency care. The member noted there is no official reimbursement
or financial assistance, and that it usually takes a lot of effort and quite
some time until individuals find the funds to pay for the uncovered services.
Hospital staff, NGOs and others somehow assume the role of finding the funds to
cover the other costs. Mine victims are an extremely vulnerable category of
asylum seekers, given the lack of reception facilities which can accommodate
them. The member said it becomes extremely difficult for them to function
because they are faced not only with medical problems but housing and economic
problems as well.[53]
Twelve asylum seekers who have lost one or more limbs are registered with the
Greek Council for Refugees; five were injured in the Evros minefields. At the
MdM-Hellas conference, the Greek office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
also expressed concern at the treatment of mine survivors.
In 2004, IHAD and the Landmine Monitor researcher held meetings with the
Ministry of Health with a view to opening a trauma center for mine survivors, as
well as discussions with the General Secretary of the Ministry of Public Order
on the possibility of granting humanitarian status to mine victims, who are
usually asylum seekers or ”illegal immigrants.” Expressions of
support including some financial pledges were given by the embassies of Canada,
the Netherlands, Norway and the US.
Non-Governmental Organizations
In 2003–2004, media reporting and public awareness of the mine
situation increased substantially, following Greece’s ratification of the
Mine Ban Treaty, announcements about clearance of the Evros minefields, and the
activities of NGOs and
campaigners.[54]
Internationally, British national and world service radio programs in December
2003 and February 2004 reported on Greece as the only EU country with minefields
on its borders, and the presence of mine survivors uncared for on the streets of
Athens. In previous years, NGO activity has been at a relatively low level.
In February 2004, a new Greek NGO, International Humanitarian Action and
Development (IHAD), became a member of the ICBL and started to campaign on the
mine issue. IHAD focused on the plight of mine survivors in Greece and worked
for the establishment of a trauma center specifically to address their needs.
In April 2004, Médecins du Monde-Hellas (MdM-Hellas) held the conference
“We Care – Humanitarian intervention for victims of anti-personnel
mines”at Alexandropoulis, close to the Evros minefields where
almost all mine casualties occur. The conference was widely reported in the
media, publicizing the mine situation more extensively than in previous
years.[55]
In 2002, MdM-Hellas carried out a survey of mine incidents based on previous
media reports and the Landmine Monitor, which has been included as background in
media reports of mine
casualties.[56] MdM-Hellas
started the first civil anti-landmine campaign in Greece in September 1997 in
the context of its international meeting on “Kurds in Greece.” It
sent a delegation to the signing ceremony of the Mine Ban Treaty in Ottawa in
December 1997. Subsequent activities included a basketball match in aid of
Bosnian landmine victims in 1998, occasional articles to publicize the presence
of minefields in Greece,[57] and
press statements in 2003 congratulating the government on ratification.
[1] The agreement between Greece and
Turkey, announced on 6 April 2001, was widely recognized as a novel and positive
means of achieving full membership of the Mine Ban Treaty, in view of historical
differences between the two countries. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
828–829. [2] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, p. 766. [3]
Ratification was published as Law 2999/2002 in the Official Gazette on 8 April
2002. [4] Interview with Maj. Vassilis
Makris, Defense Policy Directorate, International Law Section, Hellenic National
Defense General Staff, 30 March
2004. [5] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, pp. 558–560. [6] Article 7
Report, 7 July 2004 (reporting period not stated), and verbal note from Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to UN Secretary-General, New York, 23 June
2004. [7] Email from Dr. Nicholas
Sitaropoulos, Legal Officer, Greek National Commission For Human Rights, 26
February 2004. [8] Interview with
Ambassador Stefanou, Nikos Kanellos and Colonel Ioannis Tsinas, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Athens, 13 February 2001. The export moratorium started in
1994, and the production moratorium was linked with the 1997 European Council
Joint Action. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 710, Landmine Monitor Report
2000, p. 767, and Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
829. [9] See Landmine Monitor Report
1999, p. 710. [10] Article 7 Report, 7
July 2004, p.1. [11] Interview with
Maj. Kontantinos Kalantzis and General Athanasios Kofos, Engineers Directorate,
General Defense Headquarters, Ministry of Defense, Athens, 31 March
2003. [12] Statement by Greece,
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 24 June
2004. [13] Ibid; interview with Maj.
Vassilis Makris, National Defense General Staff, 30 March
2004. [14] Statement by Greece,
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 24 June 2004; interview
with Maj. Vassilis Makris, Defense Policy Directorate, International Law
Section, Hellenic National Defense General Staff, 30 March
2004. [15] Article 7 Report, 7 July
2004, p. 2; verbal note from Ministry of Foreign Affairs to UN
Secretary-General, New York, 23 June
2004. [16]
Ibid. [17] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form E, 12 November
2003. [18] Stavros Tzimas, “Live
minefields cast a dark shadow on peace,” Kathimerini (daily newspaper), 22
October 2001. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
559. [19] Interview with Maj. Vassilis
Makris, Hellenic National Defense General Staff, 30 March 2004. These
mine/UXO-suspected areas have not been noted previously in official Greek
reports. [20]
Ibid. [21] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form B, 12 November 2003; see Landmine Monitor Report 2003,
p. 523. [22] Interview with Ambassador
Stefanou, Nikos Kanellos and Colonel Ioannis Tsinas, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Athens, 13 February
2001. [23] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form B, 12 November
2003. [24] Interview with Maj.
Vassilis Makris, Hellenic National Defense General Staff, 30 March
2004. [25] Interview with Maj.
Kontantinos Kalantzis and General Athanasios Kofos, Engineers Directorate,
General Defense Headquarters, Ministry of Defense, Athens, 31 March
2003. [26] Interviews with Maj.
Vassilis Makris, Hellenic National Defense General Staff, 30 March 2004, and
with Ioannis Andreades, First Counselor, Disarmament Section, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Athens, 30 March 2004; “Armed forces redeployed
eastwards,” Athens News (weekly newspaper), 7 November
2003. [27] Interview with Maj.
Vassilis Makris, Hellenic National Defense General Staff, 30 March
2004. [28]
Ibid. [29] Telephone interview with
Maj. Vassilis Makris, Hellenic National Defense General Staff, 11 August 2004;
presentation by Maj. Ioannis Christogiannis, Standing Committee on Stockpile
Destruction, Geneva, 30 May 2002. [30]
Presentation by Maj. Konstantinos Kalantzis, Standing Committee on Mine
Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Acton Technologies, Geneva, 28 May 2002;
Engineer Corps Headquarters, General Staff, “Demining Operations at
Hellenic Army,” May 2002, p. 4 (booklet distributed at Standing Committee
meetings in May 2002). [31] Interview
with Ioannis Andreades, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 30 March 2004. Exchange
rate €1 = US$1.1315, used throughout for 2003 data. US Federal Reserve,
“List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 2 January
2004. [32] CROMAC, “Report on
Implementation of Mine Clearance Plan for Croatian State Territory and Expended
Funds in 2003,” January 2004, p. 19. Exchange rate of $1 =
KN6.7. [33] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form E, 12 November 2003; email from Ionnis Andreades,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 August 2004. Exchange rate €1 = US$0.95,
used for 2002 data. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates
(Annual),” 6 January 2003. [34]
Email from Ioannis Andreades, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 August 2004. IMI
reported receiving €889,214 in 2001. Email from IMI to HRW, 30 July 2004.
Exchange rate €1 = US$0.898, used for 2001 data. US Federal Reserve,
“List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 29 April
2002. [35] “Projects –
Bosnia,” IMI website, www.demining.gr
, accessed on 9 July 2004. [36] BHMAC,
“Report on Demining and Other Mine Action for 2003,” 7 April 2004,
Annexes 2 and 3. [37] Email from IMI
to HRW, 30 July 2004. In Lebanon, it was reported that IMI cleared 47,000
square meters and neutralized 213 antipersonnel mines, four antivehicle mines
and nine UXO near Arnoun. “Arnoun demined after 80-day Greek
operation,” Daily Star (Lebanese newspaper), 17 June 2004.
[38] CCW Amended Protocol II Article
13 Report, Form F, 12 November
2003. [39] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form B, 10 December
2001. [40] “Migrants Killed on
Border,” Kathimerini, 7 January
2003. [41] ”Migrant killed in
minefield,” Athens News, 28 March 2003, and Catherine Boitard,
“Greek minefields spell death for many illegal immigrants,” Agence
France-Presse, 23 October 2003. [42]
“Land mine kills illegal immigrant trying to sneak into Greece from
Turkey,” Associated Press, 30 May
2004. [43] “Landmine kills
migrant at Greek border,” Athens News, 6 August 2004. Another press
report of the same incident stated that one migrant was killed, four injured and
two uninjured. “Palestinian killed in landmine blast on Greece-Turkey
border,” Agence France-Presse, 5 August
2004. [44] “Land Mine Kills
Officers,” Athens News, 19 October 2001; Stavros Tzimas, “Live
Minefields Cast a Dark Shadow on Peace,” Kathimerini, 22 October
2001. [45] Presentation by Maj.
Konstantinos Kalatzis, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 28 May
2002. [46] For details of incidents,
see previous editions of the Landmine Monitor
Report. [47] Presentation by Maj.
Konstantinos Kalatzis, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 28 May
2002. [48] “Would-be immigrant
killed in minefield blast on Greek border,” Agence France-Presse (Athens),
30 May 2004. [49] CCW Amended Protocol
II Article 13 Reports, Form B, 12 November 2003, 12 March, and 11 December 2002.
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
561. [50] Landmine Monitor
researcher’s notes, “We Care – Humanitarian intervention for
victims of anti-personnel mines” conference, Alexandropoulis, 24 April
2004. [51] See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 525. [52] Médecins du
Monde-Hellas, “Brief Report,” on “We Care – Humanitarian
intervention for victims of anti-personnel mines” conference,
Alexandropoulis, 24 April 2004. The quotation is from Article 6 of the Mine Ban
Treaty. [53] Interviews with official
requesting anonymity, Athens, February
2004. [54] Demetris Nanouris,
“‘Stunted’ hopes,” Eleftherotypia (daily newspaper), 9
November 2003; Christos Zervas, “Demine now,” Eleftherotypia, 9
November 2003; Demetris Nanouris, “Illegal Life, Illegal Death,”
Eleftherotypia, 9 November 2003; Takis Kampilis, “The beggars of the
Evros,” Ta Nea (daily newspaper), 24 January 2004. Additional articles
appeared in both newspapers in February 2004. Marilyn Margoumenou,
“Minefields on the borders,” Cover Story (magazine), June
2004. [55] Elias Maroutsi,
“Exploded – dreams,” Ethnos (daily newspaper), 18 April 2004;
“New calls to de-mine border,” Kathimerini, 26 April 2004; Dina
Vegena Vagena, “They will clear the APLs from the Evros,”
Eleftherotypia, 27 April 2004. [56]
Kathy Tzilivakis, “Greece to Scrap Evros Landmines Ahead of Turkey,”
Athens News, 30 March 2002. [57] Theo
Rosenberg, “Minefields in Greece,” IANSA News, 6 February
2002.
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