YET ZIM - DEMINERS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED AS FAR AWAY AS THE FALKLANDS! Thursday, March 27, 2014 - 12:03 AAFonline In many of Zimbabwe’s sparsely populated border areas with Mozambique and Zambia the threat of anti-personnel landmines that were laid more than 30 years ago by Rhodesian security forces as a barrier against the infiltration of fighters from neighbouring states. The minefields were mapped, but according to a senior military intelligence officer some records were lost during the 1980 transition from colonial Rhodesia to independent Zimbabwe. Now villagers in these areas still suffer the consequences of the war that ended so many years ago. When flooding occurs the mines are often dislodged and brought to the surface or deposited close to inhabited areas, where curious children treat them as toys, and are killed or maimed. The landmines prevent villagers from hunting or gathering wild fruits and restrict land usage for domestic animals. The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, an initiative that reports on implementation of and compliance with the 1999 Mine Ban Treaty (MBT), using data from the Zimbabwe Mine Action Centre (ZIMAC), says 1 585 people were maimed or killed by mines between 1980 and 2012. In 2012, 12 deaths and 11 injuries were reported across Zimbabwe, an increase from one death and two injuries from the previous year, but the monitor said the increase may be the result of improved reporting. Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA), which in 2012 began a demining programme in Manicaland, along the Mozambique border, said that since 1980, anti-personnel mines have killed more than 120 000 cattle in Zimbabwe. A 2012 ZIMAC report noted that the presence of the mines have prevented the safe movement of communities, inhibited access to water sources, curtailed the expansion of tea and timber plantations, and hampered tourism. Landmine-clearing operations began in 1982, but progress has been slow, a fact blamed on inadequate funding and a lack of political will. The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor in 2012 estimated about 1.17 million mines remain. Clifford Sibanda, a parliamentarian from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and chair of a committee with oversight of the defence ministry, said demining was not a priority issue for President Robert Mugabes government. The declining economy since 1997 has meant that funding for demining operations has dried up. A recent parliamentary report said demining operations by the military would be constrained by poor funding after the finance ministry revealed its 2014 national budget. The budget allocated US$500 000 instead of the $2 million requested for demining this year. In July 2012, while signing a memorandum of understanding with NPA for mine clearance operations, the defence secretary, Martin Rushwaya, also pointed out that the Zimbabwean Corps of Engineers faces many challenges, especially the use of old and antiquated equipment. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the MBT, which stipulates that each member state must undertake to destroy or ensure the destruction of all anti-personnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible. Zimbabwe missed its 2009 mine clearance deadline and was granted a 22-month extension, which it also failed to meet. The deadline has since been extended to January 2015, but there is little chance that this target will be met. The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor says statistics on Zimbabwes demining progress are confusing. It said that data released on cleared land over the years do not add up. It notes some government information suggest about 20sqkm of land remains contaminated, while other information shows 223sqkm remain to be cleared. While applying for the MBT extension in 2012, ZIMAC noted that about 205sqkm of contaminated land remained from the original 511sqkm identified in 1982. According to Halo Trust, a UK-based demining organization, landmines can still be found on a combined borderline estimated at 335km, with the mines extending inland from the borders. ZIMAC indicated that major minefield clearance started in 1998 with technical, training and financial support from the US, but was discontinued after 18 months. This was replaced with European Union (EU) support between 1999 and 2000, but this also ended as donors withdrew their support. The government is currently being assisted by HALO Trust, NPA and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which are helping with the training of army engineers and the formulation of demining policies.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 09:37:17 +0000
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