Vietnam Needs More Int’l Support for Landmine Clearance

Vietnam is in need of more support from the international community to cope with the consequences of post-war bombs and mines, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said. Nhan made the statement at an exchange in the capital city of Hanoi on April 2 to mark International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action [April 4]. The Vietnamese government annually spends trillions of Vietnamese dongs on dealing with the consequences and has gained significant progress in handling the post-war consequences of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), Nhan said. Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong said in recent years, foreign NGOs have helped build a database on landmines and UXO in Vietnam and disseminate information about the danger of bombs and mines to minimize the casualties. The UXO contaminated land area accounts for over 20% of the country’s area, causing difficulties for production and people’s life. The country’s impoverished central region was subject to particularly heavy bombing and mining. Bombs and mines have claimed over 40,000 lives in Vietnam, including 30,000 children, and left 60,000 others injured over the past 37 years, he added. Vietnam needs more than $10 billion and 300 years to clear up bombs and mines left from the war, said a representative of the Technology Centre for Bomb and Mine Disposal (BOMICEN). (vov.vn April 3, vnexpress.net April 3)