| After the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001, Indian Army planted the Anti personnel landmines along 1800 miles India Pakistan border. This is the largest mine laying operation carried out in recent years. Shelling by India and Pakistan are common in the border villages. There are many incidents when civilians including childrean and women are killed and injured by these landmines. Hundred and thousand domestic animals are killed and injured due to these mines.
(Washington, DC, 05-Jan-2002) Following reports of mine-laying on the border
with Pakistan, ICBL condemned such use and sent this open letter to Prime
Minister Vajpayee urging India to refrain from laying antipersonnel landmines
and to declare this publicly.
4 January 2002
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Rashtrapati Bavan
New Delhi 110004
INDIA
Dear Prime Minister Vajpayee:
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is gravely disturbed that
Indian troops are laying new antipersonnel landmines along the border with
Pakistan. On 4 January, the New York Times reported
from Mulla Kot, India that over the past two weeks Indian soldiers have sown
thousands of acres of farmland with antipersonnel and antitank mines. It stated
that various accounts from border regions “indicate that India is in the
process of laying mines along virtually the entire length of its 1,800-mile
border with Pakistan.”
The ICBL believes that any use of antipersonnel mines is a violation of
customary international humanitarian law, because antipersonnel mines are
inherently indiscriminate and because their limited military utility is far
outweighed by their negative humanitarian consequences. The dominant view of the
international community that antipersonnel mines should be considered illegal is
reflected in the fact that 145 nations have ratified, and another 20 have
signed, the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty that comprehensively prohibits any use,
production, trade or stockpiling of the weapon.
It is most regrettable that India is not among these nations. It is
noteworthy, however, that India has since 1995 supported “the objective” of
a universal ban on antipersonnel mines. In a January 2001 letter to the ICBL,
your government stated, “India is fully committed to the eventual elimination
of antipersonnel landmines.” Yet, the factors and reasons that justify a ban
on antipersonnel mines in the future are just as valid today.
The antipersonnel mines that are being laid today by Indian troops are likely
to take the lives and limbs of numerous Indian civilians in the coming years.
Indeed, the media has already reported civilian casualties – a bicyclist was
killed on New Year’s Day in the Bikaner district, and a child was injured in
the same region last week. In addition to the casualties, large tracts of
agricultural land are now being denied Indian farmers. Clearance will no doubt
be a long, costly and dangerous process.
In a 1996 study carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross,
military experts concluded that in the three previous India-Pakistan wars, the
“contribution of these minefields to the ultimate outcome of the conflict was
considered to be marginal.” Elimination of antipersonnel mines can also have
diplomatic benefits, and contribute to regional security and stability. For
example, in 2001,Greece and Turkey announced their plans to join the Mine Ban
Treaty simultaneously as a confidence building measure.
We therefore call on India to refrain from laying new antipersonnel landmines
and to declare this publicly. In taking such a bold step, you will avoid putting
civilians and combatants at further risk and will help to build confidence in
the region, laying the groundwork for peace. We are also calling on Pakistan to
refrain from using antipersonnel mines. We are also urging States Parties to the
Mine Ban Treaty, including Bangladesh and the Maldives from the region, to
oppose any use of antipersonnel landmines by India or Pakistan.
Sincerely,
Ms. Elizabeth Bernstein
ICBL Coordinator
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