Swiss mine foundation assists Laos to get rid of two million tons of bombs GENEVA, April 3 (KUNA) -- A Swiss official said Tuesday that two million tons of hidden and explosive bombs are under the soil in Laos since the Indo-China war.
In a press statement on the occasion on Wednesday's World Landmine Day, Deputy Director of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action Benedikt Truniger added that three years ago it was estimated that clearing of those bombs with the speed it was being done would take a century.
Now, he added, and if the trend continues of increasing the mine clearing capacities year after year, the range of mine clearing would be reduced to a period of twenty years instead of a century.
He added that during the next two years, almost 70,000 inhabitants in the central and southern regions of Laos will be provided with new, safe lands for agricultural use, after the Swiss Foundation for Mine action (FSD) will have achieved its decontamination process.
"In its integrated project along with the World Food Program (WFP), the FSD is surveying and clearing land which still is heavily contaminated by non-exploded ordnance of the past wars," he added.
Since the start of the operations in March 2006, five international experts of the FSD along with 30 young Laotian de-miners which have been trained within the affected communities, have secured and decontaminated over 50 hectares of quality agricultural land in 20 villages for about 5,000 inhabitants.
Within the last 12 months, he said, tens of thousands people in the central and southern mine and unexploded ordinance (UXO) affected regions, were victims of a serious food shortage, due to draught and severe flooding.
"In order to be able to reach a sufficient agricultural production, the affected communities urgently need to extend their production of rice and increase the number of fish ponds, the main resource of the rural population," said Truniger.
Laos is the holder of a very sad record and it is considered as the most heavily bombarded country in history.
During the Vietnam War, the American Air Force has dropped over two million tons of various types of bombs and other ammunition along the Ha Chi Minh path even though Lao has never been party to the conflict.
Today, it is estimated that still over 25 million of unexploded ordnance are polluting the country, injuring and killing over 50 civilians every year and hindering the rural population from reaching self-sufficiency.
Truniger explained that with new technologies tested with the Americans the programs are advancing.(end) hn.ayh KUNA 031608 Apr 07NNNN