Removing the unexploded ordnances (UXOs) left over from Vietnamese wars fought in previous decades should be a national priority, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said at a meeting in Hanoi Feb 26. The PM said the government has already drawn up many policies and spent billions of Vietnamese dongs to combat the issue. Thanks to the support of the international community, Vietnam had made great strides in clearing wartime bombs and mines. Mr. Dung suggested the State Steering Committee of the National Action Program on Settling Consequences of Unexploded Ordnances negotiate with donors who could sponsor the program, which would help people avoid encountering UXOs and assist UXO victims. Deputy Defense Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, head of the committee, said that the committee planned to submit a plan for the 2013-2015 period to the government for approval, issue a decree on plans to remove UXOs and coordinate funding mechanisms. It will also map UXOs in the remaining 14 provinces and organize an international donor conference on the issue in Hanoi at the end of the year, study the technology to clear UXO and hold an exchange p rogram to jointly overcome the consequences of UXO on April 4. The conference heard that around 800,000 tons of unexploded bombs and mines remain over an area of 6.6 million hectares and that more than 1,000 people fall victim to UXO each year. UXO contaminated land area makes up over 20% of the country’s area. Vietnam needs more than $10 billion and 300 years to clear up war-time bombs and mines, said a representative of the Technology Centre for Bomb and Mine Disposal. (Vietnam News Feb 27, Nhan Dan – The People Feb 27)
