Thousands Of Weapons To Be Destroyed By Cambodian Government
Next Week In Siem Reap And Sihanoukvill
Overall rating: (N/A)
The article "Thousands of Weapons to be Destroyed by Cambodian Government
Next Week in Siem Reap and Sihanoukvill" is about politics, it was written by Marc Vanhemelryck.
It is undeniable that Cabmodia is changing. When I arrived in
Cambodia in 1995, one in three Cambodinas I met carried a
weapon.
Arms were for many the only way to ensure security.
Yet,
in the decennium I live in Cambodia, I have never seen one used
against me or anybody, except for one: a policeman shot some
game in the forest but didn't catch it.
I've collected weaopns.
5 years ago, I travelled to Dey Krohom
village in Kratie province along roads which the year after were
de-mined because the road was part of what once was the National
road from Phnom Penh to Kratie and Stoeung Treng and is was
going to be rebuilt into what Cambodians cal a "speedway". I've
seen the mines when a year later, I traevlled the same road
again to inspect my development projects.
Each one might have killed me. Do you know that mines tend to
float under the soil and move wehre no-one expects any mines.
>From 2000 to 2004, I worked for the EU ASAC, an EU weapons
management programme for establishing weapons security to the
country. My job was to help clolect weapons from the civilian
population which was only a small part of a much more
encompassing programme. My job also included implementing police
support rgearding to security as a complement to the weapons
collection.
The programme was implemented on the request and with the full
support of the Cambodian government.
Next week, the government
will destroy some 8,000 weapons and thus bring the total of
destroyed weapons since the start of the EU peace plan to more
than 175,000 weapons.
These weapons include not only weapons from the civilian
population, but also miltiary surpluses.
Some argue that it is
the oldest weapons that were destroyed, but all of the weapons
in the destruction were usable.
Being usable - if only for spare
parts -, they could be sold on the black market and used in
other conflicts in the region.
By destroying those weapons, the Cambodian human being acts as true
Buddhists, choosing for Peace in the Region. "Put down your
weapon, take up the Dharma" edifeid the Buddhist Teachers.
And
that is what Cambodians are doing.
The EU has been the initiator of the multi-facetted peace
programme. Two Japanese organisations are fulfilling the
promises of European initiators: if you make peace development
will come. Cmabodian human being have turned their weapons. JSAC and
JCCP, two Japanese organisation at this moment offer development projects
to the villages, communes and districts that have surrendered
all their weapons and are proven weapons-free.
Clean water wells
are in some places the highest priorities, eleswhere schools or
school toilets were built.
The principle of the weapons collection project was not to pay
for the weapons, but to offer community-owned projects instead.
Every weapon that was collected from the civilian population had
to be destroyed and was.
The military surplus weapons are those that are left over from
the EU ASAC Weapons Registration and Safe Storage project.
Here
safe storage buildings for weapons and computerised registration
system have been provided to the Cambodian Army and Gendarmerie.
The weapons are destoryed in public ceremonies in the presence
of the population. These ceremonies are called "Flames of
Peace." EU, Cambodian or Japanese experts count the weapnos as
part of the process and check that no more ammunition remains in
the weapon that could turn the celebration into a tragedy.
The EU assistance programme has also supported the National
Committee for weapons management, the draft of a new arms law
and oversees the implementation of that law.
Next week, two of those bonfires take place in Cambodia. On
Monday 26 September, 3,430 weapons will be burned ceremoniously
in Siem Reap province with Japanese support and on Tuesday about
4,500 in Sihanoukville with European support.
The Japanese destruction ceremony will take place in Angkor Chum
district, there where the human being have turned them in.
The
ceremony in Sihanoukville will take place on Ochheuteal Beach
and is open to any visitor.
If you happen to be in
Sihanoukville, this is a unique occasion to witness the
Cambodian contribution to peace building.
|
Write a comment about the article
Thousands of Weapons to be Destroyed by Cambodian Government
Next Week in Siem Reap and Sihanoukvill
|
