Cambodia's mine-clearance agency to suspend operations
By Ker Munthit
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's scandal-plagued mine-clearance agency threatened
Tuesday to suspend operations due to lack of funds, potentially crippling
the country's efforts to rid itself of millions of landmines.
The Cambodian Mine Action Center will stop work Friday and remain closed for
one or two months while it waits for foreign donors to give more funding,
Director-General Khem Sophoan told The Associated Press.
"I have ordered staff to return equipment to their camps and warehouses," he
said. "About 2,000 staff will be laid off. When we close the doors, it will
be a big loss."
An estimated 10 million mines were left buried within Cambodia's borders
after almost three decades of civil war. Intensive surveying and clearance
by several organizations since 1991 have seen that estimate reduced to 4
million to 6 million mines.
The Government-run CMAC has been responsible for nearly two-thirds of
professional mine clearance since UN peacekeepers left Cambodia in 1993.
The center was hailed internationally as a model agency for other
war-scarred nations attempting to clear land for poor citizens displaced by
conflict.
But it became mired in scandal last year when it was revealed that more than
$1 million of donor money was spent on land in southwestern Cambodia that
was then turned over to government officials, wealthy businessmen and army
generals.
Donor nations that provide about $12 million annually to the center were
angered by the scandal and suspended funding for several months.
A host of financial reforms and the firing of several top staffers appeared
to have put operations back on track in December, but Khem Sophoan said the
center is quickly running dry of funds.
CMAC has only $200,000 left and needs $800,000 if it is to cover normal
operational costs through the March-end, he said.
One clearance unit in the tourist destination of Siem Reap will remain
working through the shutdown because it receives separate funding through
the German government, the director-general said.
A handful of private mine-clearance agencies - including the Mine Advisory
Group and HALO Trust - will be unaffected by the action. (Associated Press)
For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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