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HUMANITARIAN MINE ACTION:

11. MINE CLEARANCE

Mine Clearance in Cambodia is carried out by Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), HALO TRUST (British), Mine Advisory Group: MAG (British), Royal Cambodian Armed Forced: RCAF (Cambodia) and through village "deminers", which is sometimes called spontaneous demining.  Commercial demining organisations are now officially allowed to operate.

Total Mine Clearance in 2000

Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC)

CMAC's mission in 2001 is "Saving Lives and Supporting Development in Cambodia". CMAC was established in 1993 during the UNTAC period. At the time, little expertise in humanitarian demining was available. The lack of global expertise coupled with predominantly military thinking at that time resulted in the Royal Decree mandating CMAC “to be everything to everybody” - a national planning and coordination body, a major provider of demining and EOD services, a provider of survey and mine awareness, a national technical and training centre, and a research and development institute. CMAC expanded rapidly to a staff of almost 3000 in early 2000 [1].

The ability of CMAC in 2000 to demine was affected by a funding crisis, which resulted in the lay off many workers on 13 October 2000. In October the 66 demining platoons were reduced to 15; 12 mine marking teams to 8; 23 EOD teams to 5; too 12 mine awareness and 12 community mine marking teams. 8 CMAC Level One Survey Teams worked with Geo-Spatial from the start of their project.

In order to save lives, statistics for mine incidents have served as a logical base for prioritization of intervention. CMAC has been deploying its resources according to the incident rate in the various affected provinces.

CMAC DEMINING PROGRESS IN 1993-2000 [2]

Deployment of CMAC Resources in relation to Incidents[3]  (as of September 2000)

CMAC has developed an integrated work plan for 2001 to clear 7,695,000 m² of the 11,360,000 m² of land, selected by the provincial committees for clearance for settlement, agriculture, roads, schools, and health centres in seven provinces. 1200 deminers or support staff have been assured of getting their jobs back gradually, through a transparent ballot system. Morale in CMAC is high again and there is a determined effort throughout the organisation to work effectively.

HALO TRUST

The HALO Trust is a non-political, non-religious, non-governmental, neutral humanitarian British charity specialising in the removal of the debris of war.  The mission of HALO Cambodia is to alleviate human suffering in former conflict areas of the country.  HALO’s role is to extend emergency relief into areas where there is little or no other support and to sustain operations under difficult circumstances. The HALO Trust also has a commitment to train and develop Cambodian management, so that an effective organisation will continue to serve the country after the intervention of expatriate staff is over [4].

The aims of The HALO Trust CAMBODIA clearance operations are [5]:

I.    To save life and prevent injury.

II.   To return demined land to the communities.

The HALO Trust commenced operations in Cambodia during October 1991 in Banteay Meanchey province, at the request of UNHCR, due to the return of large numbers of refugees.  HALO undertook a survey of the mine problem in four of the northern western provinces in support of UNHCR. As result of this and subsequent surveys a clear requirement for mine clearance was identified in Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces.  With the establishment of  CMAC, and the growth of demining operations in Cambodia via the activity of other demining NGOs, HALO has been able to concentrate on its mission and deploy demining personnel into areas hardest hit by poverty and recent conflict [6].

By January 2001 The HALO Trust had cleared 12,382,830 square metres of mined land, destroyed 25,197 mines (which includes AT mines) and 21,598 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO). This has had a significant impact on the quality of life of thousands of Khmers living in North West Cambodia. Many lives have been saved and many families are now able to utilise land for housing, agriculture, schools, health posts and access to clean safe water [7]. In 2000 Halo Trust demined 3,000,453 m² and cleared an extra 892,145 m² ready for future clearance.

HALO Cambodia’s current personnel is 77,  seven deminer sections, 539 demining lanes, with 12 tractor units conducting vegetation cutting, making a total of 859.  Operations are conducted in the North West of Cambodia in 4 locations ranked by size -Thmar Pouk, Anlong Veng, Siem Reap and Samrong [8].

The HALO Trust operates the One Man One Lane (OMOL) system, which means that every demining day there are 539 deminers with 539 detectors working for 7 hours [9]. Demining teams operate remotely at an average of 40 clearance tasks at a time.

Current Operations

The HALO Trust is currently working in 36 high priority sites in Banteay Meanchey (13), Siem Reap (6) and Oddar Meanchey (17); employs 539 trained deminers and has 4 fully operational base locations in Siem Reap, Thmar Pouk (Banteay Meanchey), Samrong and Anlong Veng (Oddar Meanchey) [10].

Mechanical Operations

Vegetation Cutting

Early on in HALO Cambodia’s operations it became apparent that between 70 and 80% of a deminer’s time was spent removing vegetation before he could actually clear the ground.  Therefore in 1995/1996 HALO trialed a standard tractor, with a cab armoured on three sides and a bush cutter mounted on an hydraulic arm attached to its rear.  The unit extends its hydraulic arm into the uncleared area and cuts the vegetation down.  Since then HALO’s tractor mounted bush cutting operation has grown to 13 units, deployed to cut vegetation ahead of demining; consequently clearance rates per lane have improved by up to 100% on mined areas already prepared by these units [11].

Mechanical Mine Clearance

HALO is currently using mechanical excavation procedures in order to support deminers clearing in areas with high metal contamination or areas where they have to excavate with no more than a trowel to reach the mines.  This system uses fully armoured loaders with mechanical shovels attached and was pioneered in Kabul, Afghanistan, and now adapted for the Cambodian environment [12].

Future Plans

During the first quarter of 2001 the HALO Trust aims to expand its demining staff by a further 217 deminers to make a total of 108 Sections comprising 756 deminers.  Total staffing to support these deminers is estimated at 1,200 Cambodian staff with 2, possibly 3 expatriates [13].

Once HALO has consolidated and is deemed to be adequately covering the mine clearance needs of the North Western provinces, HALO plans to expand into a further province that is receiving minimal or no mine clearance [14].

In 2000 Halo Trust demined 3,000,453 m² of land and cleared an extra 892,145 m² ready for future clearance. They found and destroyed 2664 APM, 10 Anti-tank mines and 2426 UXO. Their mine clearance was in the provinces of Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey and Banteay Meanchey [15].

Halo Trust reports that five of their deminers died from AIDS in 2000. Halo sees AIDS as a major problem for the future of mine clearance in Cambodia, as skilled and trained workers are lost [16]. MAG also reported four deminers dead from AIDS and CMAC reports AIDS as a serious problem.

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) [17]

MAG Cambodia began its operations in October 1992 deploying one mine clearance team in Battambang Province. Today the organization operates 20 Mine Action Team (MAT's) and two Explosive Ordance Disposal (EOD) teams. MAG now has 300 deminers on the ground in Cambodia.

The MAT concept has been developed by MAG Cambodia to increase the impact of our progamming on mine/UXO affected communities. MATs combine a mine clearance capability with EOD, community liaison and minefield marking and surveying. MATs primarily focus on clearing small plots of land for community use, for example around pagodas, water sources, clinics, schools and or resettlement purposes. This maximises the impact of MAGs Humanitarian Mine Action on the beneficiaries of the project. MATs can also be deployed to clear small plots of land for agricultural activities to contribute to improved food security in the community. All MAG teams are currently being converted to MATs.

MAG Statistics

The military engineers of the RCAF have been involved in “demining” (and bomb disposal) since  1994. Their contribution to the reduction in the mine/UXO threat has been quite substantial. Extensive road clearance by the army, for example, has recently taken place in Veal Veng district in Pursat, an area where mine clearance teams refuse to work due to lack of medical support facilities [18].

On 25 April, 2001 Colonel Tuon Kon gave statistics to the Land Mine Monitor team. The clearance in 2000 was in Kampot, Pursat and along route 1 from Kandal to Prey Veng. Most of clearance was for roads and placement of cables. RCAF also checks for and removes mines before visits of Cambodian leaders to province sites. Colonel Tuon Kon says all RCAF demining activities in 2001 are done to UN standards [19].

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Statistics Mine Clearance (1994-2000) [20]

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Statistics Mine Clearance (Jan. 2001-Apr. 2001)[21]

Mine found by Military are from China, former Soviet Union, United States and Vietnam.

Village Demining:

Village demining continues in most mine affected areas. However there is no record of the amount of land demined.

One particular case cited in February 2001 is that of a village demining team of 76 people. This "platoon" was asked to demine for a future village site in Pailin after villagers were facing eviction. Self help demining has occurred in Cambodia for years. At the meeting of the CMAA in February, the idea of rethinking the official stance to village demining was proposed (Two issues are involved, the issue of land ownership, and that of who is allowed to clears mines.

Experience suggests the need to develop the capacity of communities to be better actors in mine action efforts. The use of mine detection dogs along side village efforts was raised. An ad hoc committee of CMAA is addressing the village demining issue. Safety of deminers and proof that land can be registered as safe for use are key.

Landmine Monitor 1999 and Landmine Monitor 2000 reported a large amount of demining done by villagers, so Handicap International initiated a study on "spontaneous demining" in Cambodia in 2000. Their finding [22] showed that the majority of village deminers are adult males with knowledge gained through teaching, experience or military experience. Demining is driven by livelihood needs and clearing is done autonomously and with locally available materials;

Motivations for demining included people need to return to old villages where land is mined, and the extension of available land for housing and agriculture and to clear paths to common property resources, the inability to wait for demining organization to meet their needs, and land grabbing by powerful people forcing villagers to move on to land, that needed demining were other reasons stated.

Reasons for stopping demining included poor health or old age or when enough land to meet family needs was available.

Tools used are everyday farming tools, hoe, spade, and knife. There is a limited use of metal detectors due to expense. Most demining is done in the wet season because the ground is easier to prod and dig. Removal of mines from ground using hands, also occurs. Mines are either dismantled and burnt or given to mine clearance organisations, especially if the mines are unfamiliar or unsafe; UXOs are usually burnt where they are found if they are used. Weapons when found are removed and taken to village authorities or mine clearance organisations. The majority of deminers adopt safe behaviour, only clearing when they are fit and well and clearing only mines they are recognize. Village deminers generally clear public paths to common property resources and place signs in mined areas to warn others in village. They destroy mines outside the village in the evening and give due warning.

Most village deminers feel they are more likely to be injured by stepping on a mine than by demining.  Many would like to discontinue demining because of fear of injury, but feel they have no choice. Families of village deminers are worried about the risks Authorities claim not to support their activities, but acknowledge that the deminers assist in reducing risks for other. Villagers believe that deminers reduce the risks in villages, but do not think the cleared land is truly safe. Some villages prefer the land be cleared by clearance organisations. Other does not because they are afraid it will be cleared and the land will be given away to others.

The villagers have high hopes that land will be cleared by mine clearance organisation but they experience difficulty making clearance request and feel a lack of response once the request is made. There is a long wait for clearance to begin and many claim that agricultural land is not cleared. Land for a house is good but they cannot live without agriculture.

Private Demining Companies

According to Sam Sotha, Secretary General of the newly-created Cambodian Mine Action Authority (CMAA), officially registered and approved private demining companies will be allowed to do work in the Kingdom in 2001. He said. "Private companies can play a valuable role in clearing land contaminated by land mines."  In consultation with the Cambodian government, CMAC, MAG and HALO, Sotha is formulating the regulations to determine the criteria by which private companies can apply to operate in the country and to govern their conduct once in operation. Sotha envisages private demining companies filling a hole in mine clearance operations by taking on mine clearance contracts of the type, size or complexity inappropriate for either CMAC or humanitarian organizations. "Private contract demining will be done according to the CMAA National Plan," Sotha said. The number of companies allowed into

the market will completely depend on national needs [23].

Chirgwin Services Group won a contract from the AusAID funded "Destroy a Minefield" to clear the Toul Kra Sang village orphanage land of UXOs and ammunition from 4-31 January 2001[24].

The Cambodian Mine Action Authority five year National Plan for demining contains a bumper crop of projects to facilitate the construction of highways, bridges and dams that are tailor-made for private demining companies according to one commercial operator. He estimates that within two years of operation his company could employ either directly or through subcontracting between 500-600 deminers [25].

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