US accused of failing demining obligations in Cambodia

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH (AA) - The head of Cambodia’s governmental mine clearance body has hit out at the U.S. for giving $90 million to Laos for demining efforts but providing only “marginal assistance” to Cambodia.

The U.S. has been accused of dropping an estimated 2.7-million tons of ordnance over Cambodia between 1965 and 1975, which sparked calls for similar help for Cambodia’s clearance efforts Thursday.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that a $90-million demining aid package would be given to Laos, where Obama has been attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, and where the 6th Meeting of State Parties to the Cluster Munition Convention has also been held this week.

Heng Ratana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, said in a Facebook post that the people of Cambodia had been “hurt twice by American policy,” in that the U.S. dropped “almost 3 million tons” of ordnance, but has failed to uphold its “moral obligations” to properly fund clearance programs in Cambodia.

“[The] USA has remarkably provided financial assistance to Laos and Vietnam with a considerable sum [$90-$100 million] for a period of three years; however, Cambodia continues to receive marginal assistance to address the same roots of matter!” he wrote.

“This is very unfair and injustice for Cambodian people! Thus, the USA hurts Khmers twice for their bombardment! During bombing and clearing remained unexploded bombs!”

Ratana could not be reached for further comment Thursday.

The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority was more judicious in its reaction, releasing a statement congratulating Laos for receiving the funds and the U.S for its “demonstrated moral obligation”.

“Not only Laos, but also the wars affected two other neighboring countries, Cambodia and Vietnam, to a grave extent,” the statement said, adding that 2.75-million tons of “air-delivered ammunitions were dropped on Cambodia during the wars”.

Questions were sent to U.S. Embassy spokesman Jay Raman on Thursday, but he had not responded by 5 p.m. (1000GMT).

The Phnom Penh Post quoted him as having said the day before that the U.S. gives $5.5 million to Cambodian demining efforts every year, and it “has invested well over $100 million to remove and safely dispose of landmines and unexploded ordnance” over the past 20 years.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency by phone Thursday, anti-cluster munitions campaigner Sak Sopheak said providing similar financial assistance to Cambodia’s clearance efforts “should be the same to make it fair”.

A 2006 article by Taylor Owen and Ben Kiernan titled Bombs Over Cambodia claimed an estimated 2.7-million tons of ordnance was dropped over Cambodia between 1965 and 1975 during the Vietnam war .

In an article published by the pair on Global Research in April 2015, however, they said that number was revised significantly downward in 2010 to about the 500,000-ton mark.

Unlike Laos, Cambodia is not a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which seeks to ban the use of cluster bombs.

According to the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, since 1979 about 20,000 Cambodians have been killed and 9,000 have had to have limbs amputated due to accidents with mines and other unexploded ordinance.