Lee Moroney is program
manager in Thailand with the Mine Action Department of the Norwegian
People’s Aid (NPA) organization.
Old landmines and explosive remnants of war continue to
kill and maim people today. This was the message at the Pattaya City Expats
Club’s Sunday, December 11 meeting. Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg
welcomed Lee Moroney, program manager in Thailand and Jan Erik in Cambodia.
Both are with the Mine Action Department of the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)
organization.
Lee was previously the program manager for Cluster
Munitions Stockpile Destruction (Global). As a member of the Institute of
Explosive Engineers and with his extensive career in the British Army and
within the NGO world he has operated in many countries including Thailand,
Vietnam, Lao PDR, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Kosovo and
Northern Ireland. Jan is a retired officer from the Norwegian Army. Having
worked with Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) for 10 years he has vast experience
in operations and mine action management in Angola, Mozambique, Lebanon,
Iraq, Vietnam and currently Cambodia to name a few.
Jan Erik is Norwegian
People’s Aid program manager in Cambodia, where demining is carried out near
the Vietnamese border, as well as other areas.
Lee began by describing the NPA organization, which is
based in Norway and was originally created as part of the labor movement in
1939. They are involved in several endeavors including assisting countries
in clearing land mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). This effort
began in 1992 when several countries including Thailand and Cambodia signed
a treaty banning the use of landmines. He described NPA’s involvement in
developing the treaty and their current efforts for a similar treaty to ban
cluster munitions. He explained that they are currently assisting 18
countries in locating these explosive devices and training local personnel
in their removal. One of the first steps is to conduct surveys so that they
will have a more accurate picture of the danger locations. With this
knowledge the country being assisted can better utilize their resources in
clearing them.
PCEC member Tony is happy to
win a two for one dinner at one of Hawaii Bob’s ‘Frugal Freddy’ restaurant
retinue.
He mentioned that most of the landmines and ERW in
Thailand and Cambodia are from many years ago when they were used
extensively in conflicts along their borders.
Lee then described the different methods used in
discovering these devices; one being the use of dogs trained to identify
explosives. In removing these destructive objects, safety is a prime
consideration. In addition to training, they furnish body armor and other
equipment for the demining operations. Also, if the object can be detonated
where it is located, that is the preferred method of removal. However, often
they may be found in an area that if exploded could damage property or
people; in these cases they are disarmed and removed.
Likewise, Jan explained and described their operations in
Cambodia. Jan noted that much of their effort is near the Cambodia and
Vietnam border; but they also work near the Cambodia and Thailand border.
Because of the extent of landmines and ERW in Cambodia, it will take many
more years to locate and destroy/remove these objects before the land can be
reclaimed for safe habitation and use.
Lee pointed out that Thailand has a much more manageable
situation as the remaining area to be reclaimed and released for use is
around 500 square kilometers. He also pointed out that in both Thailand and
Cambodia, the effort is to reclaim land for habitation and use. They give
priority to such areas rather than clearing known mined areas where the land
has no suitable use.
Lee then described the situation with cluster munitions.
He noted that these munitions are remnants of the past and, as with
Thailand, are stockpiled. As a weapon, they are not very effective. They
also kill indiscriminately. He described how they are constructed and
disbursed by air or artillery; breaking into many bomblets with each having
the destructive power of a hand grenade. He and Jan pointed out that from 20
to 30% of these bomblets do not explode. Thus they leave a hazard for anyone
that stumbles across them.
Lee concluded by mentioning Thailand’s use of cluster
munitions in the recent border clashes with Cambodia, which he felt was not
deliberate, but had more to do with grabbing up whatever ordnance was
readily available. Likewise, Cambodia used rockets which also had a
significant failure rate. Currently, they are assisting both Cambodia and
Thailand in identifying where these objects are located so that they can be
removed.
To learn more about their efforts, Lee referenced NPA’s
website at http://www.npaid.org/en/.
After Lee and Jan answered several questions, Richard
Silverberg called on Roy Albiston to update everyone on current events and
to conduct the always interesting Open Forum where questions are asked and
answered about living in Thailand; Pattaya in particular.
