Key developments since May 2005: The Thailand Mine Action Center
initiated area reduction in 2005 in a bid to accelerate demining; the area
released (5.9 square kilometers) was three times greater than in 2004. The
center proposed to the cabinet that it should convert from a military
organization under the armed forces to become a civilian organization. In
January 2006, this was endorsed at a high-level review of Thailand’s mine
action program; a proposal was submitted to the government in May. Funding cuts
led to the units responsible for most of the demining in Thailand to lose more
than half their workforce in 2006. Mine risk education increased, with over
333,000 people reached. There were an estimated 43 new mine casualties in 2005;
plans were discussed for nationwide collection of mine casualty data. A plan
for survivor assistance was drafted in December 2005.
Mine Ban Policy
The Kingdom of Thailand signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997,
ratified it on 27 November 1998, and became a State Party on 1 May 1999.
Thailand has not enacted comprehensive domestic legislation to implement the
Mine Ban Treaty. However, Thai officials told Landmine Monitor in February 2006
that the Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) is drafting regulations, termed the
Office of the Prime Minister Regulations Governing the Implementation of the
Convention, and will then submit them for approval to the cabinet through the
Armed Forces’ Supreme Command Headquarters and then to the Minister of
Defense.[1]This document, which has
been in development since 2002, will be used to amend existing regulations to
implement the treaty.
Thailand submitted its eighth annual Article 7 transparency report on 25
April 2006, covering calendar year 2005.[2]Thailand utilized voluntary Form J to report on a number of matters, but
did not use the new expanded Form D on mines retained for training.
At the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Zagreb, Croatia in
November-December 2005, Thailand stated that it will do its “utmost to
strengthen partnership among public agencies, civil society and private actors
in order to put our commitments to the Convention into
practice.”[3]Thailand also
made reference to its recently completed Master Plan for Thailand Humanitarian
Mine Action 2005-2009 and its close consultation with relevant public agencies
and NGOs to finalize the Master Plan on Victim Assistance. Thailand stated that
the two master plans “will be submitted to the National Committee for
Humanitarian Mine Action for endorsement and possibly for further integration
into the 10th National Socioeconomic Development Plan, which covers the period
of 2007 to 2011.”[4]
Thailand participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in
June 2005 and May 2006. At the latter meeting, it made interventions on
universalization, victim assistance and mine clearance. Thailand has not
engaged in the extensive discussions that States Parties have had on matters of
interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2 and 3. Thus, it has
not made known its views on the issues of joint military operations with
non-States Parties, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines,
antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the
permissible number of mines retained for training.
From May 2005 to May 2006, Thailand chaired the Human Security Network (HSN),
the network of 14 countries cooperating on issues of human security, including
landmines. Thailand hosted the Eight HSN Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok in May
2006.[5]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an event to celebrate the International
Day of Mine Awareness on 7 April 2006, in which 17 awards were given to
organizations and people actively dedicated to this cause. The event also
included a panel discussion with representatives from various sectors in order
to increase public awareness and mobilize support. At the same time, a workshop
entitled Assisting Thailand in Meeting Expectations in Implementing Article 5 of
the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, was
held.[6]
The Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines (TCBL) is a combination of
international and local NGOs and associations of people with disabilities. The
Association of Persons with Physical Disability International (APDI) was
accepted as the twelfth member of TCBL in November 2005. TCBL’s
activities in 2005 consisted of advocacy, empowering landmine survivors,
consulting with TMAC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thailand’s
Road Map on Mine Action, providing advice to TMAC on the Master Plan for Victim
Assistance, and monitoring the Royal Thai Government’s implementation of
the Mine Ban Treaty. In November 2005, TCBL set up a task force in order to
develop a strategic action plan for a landmine awareness campaign and other
advocacy efforts.[7]
Production, Transfer and Use
Thailand states that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel
mines.[8]In the past, it appears
that Thailand imported antipersonnel mines from the United States, Italy, China
and the former Yugoslavia.[9]TMAC
has stated that landmines have not been used in the increasingly violent armed
conflict, which began in January 2004 in the southern part of Thailand. TMAC
told Landmine Monitor that while the insurgents have used improvised explosive
devices, these have been command-detonated and not victim-activated devices like
antipersonnel mines.[10]
The only recent use of landmines on Thai soil took place in 2003, during
fighting between the Royal Thai Army and Burmese Armed Forces backed by the
United Wa State Army. Either Burmese or Wa combatants laid mines in the Mae Fa
Luang district of Chiang Rai province, on territory claimed and occupied by
Thailand.[11]
Stockpiling and Destruction
On 24 April 2003, Thailand completed the destruction of its stockpiled
antipersonnel mines. Thailand initially held 342,695 antipersonnel
mines.[12]From 1999 to April 2003,
a total of 337,725 mines were destroyed.
Thailand kept 4,970 antipersonnel mines for training by the Royal Thai Army,
Navy and Air Force, and the Thai National Police. According to Thailand’s
Article 7 reports, from 2001, when the quantity was determined, through 2004,
there was no change in the number of mines retained, indicating none were being
consumed in training. Thailand’s most recent Article 7 report, for
calendar year 2005, indicates that the number of retained mines dropped to
4,761.[13]TMAC confirmed to
Landmine Monitor in April and May 2006 that a total of 209 mines had been used
in training, including 190 by the National Police Department and 19 by the Royal
Thai Air Force, leaving a total of 4,761
mines.[14]
In November 1999, Thailand reported that it also had 6,117 M18 and M18A1
Claymore mines in stock.[15]TMAC
reiterated in 2005 that all units have been briefed that Claymore mines are to
be used only in command-detonated
mode.[16]However, no physical
modifications have been undertaken to ensure use in command-detonated mode.
Landmine Monitor researchers were told by local residents in Fang District,
Chiang Mai Province on the border with Burma that in November 2005 a Claymore
mine command-detonated by the Thai military killed three people and injured
another.
The Royal Thai Police reported that it found or collected 10 antipersonnel
mines and one antivehicle mine during operations in 2005. The police keep the
mines while investigations are carried out, and when a case is closed, the mines
are destroyed.[17]
Landmine and ERW Problem
Thailand is affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war
(ERW),[18]both abandoned explosive
ordnance and unexploded ordnance (UXO), as a result of conflicts on all four of
its borders with Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Malaysia. A Landmine Impact Survey
(LIS) completed in 2001 identified 530 communities in 27 provinces and more than
500,000 people as mine-affected. It estimated the area of contaminated land at
approximately 2,557 square kilometers, three-quarters of it on the 700-kilometer
border with Cambodia.[19]Thai
authorities believe this figure will be drastically reduced by technical
survey.[20]
Contamination along the Cambodian border, which was used as a base by
Cambodian guerrilla groups in the 1980s and 1990s, affected 297 communities. In
addition to landmines, the border is contaminated by artillery and mortar shells
fired by Vietnamese and Cambodian government forces and caches of abandoned
mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition left by Cambodian guerrilla
groups.[21]The LIS found that
mines and UXO prevented use of forest resources, cropland and pasture, and that
water sources were often reported as affected. The border with Cambodia also
accounted for 195 (56 percent) of the 346 casualties recorded in the two years
preceding the LIS.[22]Thailand has
concentrated demining efforts on the Cambodian border, but has made little
progress reducing the area of contamination since the survey.
The LIS found that all but one of the remaining casualties occurred on the
border with Burma, where 139 affected communities and 240 contaminated areas
were identified in 2001.[23]The
periodic spillover of fighting from Burma into Thailand has deterred efforts to
clear landmines along that border. Also, contamination there is said to have
increased as a result of mine-laying by Burmese or ethnic minority Wa combatants
on the Thai side of the border in northern Chiang Rai province, Mae Fa Luang
district.[24]
Mines have had less impact on Thailand’s northern border with Laos and
negligible impact on its southern border with Malaysia.
Mine Action Program
National Mine Action Authority: Management of the mine action program
in Thailand is in a state of flux. Responsibility for overseeing mine action
lies with a National Committee for Humanitarian Mine Action, set up in 2000,
chaired by the Prime Minister and including representatives of all major
ministries, government departments and NGOs. The committee’s mandate,
however, expired in January 2005 at the end of the first government of Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and was not
renewed.[25]
In January 2006, a high-level meeting to review Thailand’s mine action
program under the chair of Deputy Prime Minister Chitchai Wannasathit decided
mine action should be reorganized under civilian
management.[26]However, the
government resigned in February 2006 before action had been taken to implement
the decision, and a political crisis delayed formation of a new government.
Mine Action Center: The Thailand Mine Action Center, set up in 1999,
is responsible for implementing Thailand’s demining under the Armed Forces
Supreme Command and is funded by the military. In February 2005, concerned at
the slow progress of demining and the armed forces’ limited budget for
operations, TMAC proposed to the cabinet that it should become a civilian
organization, operating with staff seconded from government agencies. TMAC
believed that as a civilian entity it would likely have access to increased
funding, both from the Thai government and potentially from foreign donors,
enabling it to increase demining capacity and clearance
rates.[27]
The proposal was rejected in August 2005 by the Office of the Public Sector
Development Commission, a government advisory board, on the grounds that it was
unnecessary to create a new government agency to fulfill a temporary
task.[28]
In December 2005, TMAC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, concerned that
“mine action in Thailand had not moved forward at a satisfactory speed and
in a systematic manner,” drew up a Roadmap for Mine Action, providing an
overview of the current status of mine action and its
goals.[29]The roadmap was put
forward for discussion at a meeting of key government agencies in
December.[30]
The findings of this meeting were presented at a high-level review of
Thailand’s humanitarian mine action program on 24 January 2006, chaired by
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Chitchai Wannasathit. He suggested
that TMAC should become a civilian agency under the supervision of the Prime
Minister’s Office and asked TMAC to draft a formal proposal for its
transfer from the armed forces.[31]TMAC took the first step in May, submitting its proposal to the Armed
Forces’ Supreme Command. The proposal was due to be considered by the
Ministry of Defense before being sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, a
process of uncertain
duration.[32]
TMAC uses version 2 of the Information Management System for Mine Action
(IMSMA) database, which was installed in 2001 to receive the LIS data and the
results of subsequent demining operations. After the database manager’s
contract, funded by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), expired in 2002, the
military declined to match the salary and he
left.[33]Funding constraints have
since limited TMAC’s ability to hire or keep experienced data operators,
and TMAC staff was unable to maintain entry of clearance data. Since 2004, the
Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) has supported the training of
TMAC’s demining teams in entering clearance data into their own terminals
and they took on responsibility for transferring it to the database in TMAC
headquarters.[34]
TMAC’s humanitarian mine action units, largely responsible for demining
in Thailand, operate according to Thai national standards that are said to be
based on the International Mine Action Standards
(IMAS).[35]
Strategic Planning and Progress
Thailand’s mine action plan for 2005-2009 sets out general objectives,
emphasizing the integration of mine action into the National Socioeconomic
Development Plan. A Concept Paper for Mine Action, drafted by TMAC in 2005,
gave priority to clearance operations on the Thai-Cambodian border. It called
for area reduction to remove land that is no longer considered risky from the
database of suspect areas and to define areas of contamination more
precisely.[36]TMAC intended to
draw up an action plan for area
reduction;[37]in the meantime, it
initiated area reduction in 2005 using random checks and information on use of
suspected mine-contaminated land in recent years.
Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Thailand must destroy all
antipersonnel landmines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon
as possible, but not no later than 1 May 2009. By February 2006, after six
years of demining operations, Thailand had cleared less than half of one percent
of the estimated area of contaminated land and at current rates of demining,
looked highly unlikely to meet its treaty
deadline.[38]
In November-December 2005, at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Thailand
stated that it “will do its utmost to strengthen partnership among public
agencies, civil society and private actors in order to put [its] commitments to
the Convention into practice.”[39]At the Standing Committee meetings in May 2006, Thailand acknowledged that
the pace of clearance “might appear somewhat unsatisfactory” and
that meeting its treaty obligations was “a great challenge.” It
added that Thailand was taking measures to accelerate clearance and was
“in the process of restructuring TMAC into a more dynamic and independent
entity.”[40]The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has also called for initiatives to attract support for mine
action from private sector
companies.[41]
In a letter to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sent in March 2006, Foreign
Minister Kanthathi Suphamongkol highlighted that the progress of demining was
slow and as a result, Thailand will not meet its mine clearance deadline under
the treaty. Assessing the reasons for Thailand’s slow progress, the
letter noted that mine action had not been a government priority, it had not
received adequate financial support, and the institutional structure placing
TMAC under military control constrained its ability to attract international
support and mobilize skills needed for some tasks. The letter observed that
Thailand had hosted the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in 2003 and that its
reputation would be enhanced by fulfilling its commitments under the treaty. It
urged the government to give mine action higher priority and a bigger budget to
enable Thailand to meet its treaty
obligation.[42]
A commentary in an English-language newspaper in Thailand in May 2006
declared that, “So far, Thailand has paid lip service to its international
pledge to rid the country of land-mines. ... It is about time the government
allocated more funds and priority to areas most affected by mines and sets a
clear, achievable timeframe for clearing them. For instance, the area along the
Thai-Cambodian border should be the most urgent. Some 15 years after peace
returned to this region, villagers in Trat, Surin and Chanthaburi still
can’t farm certain parts of their
land.”[43]
Demining
Demining is undertaken mainly by four humanitarian mine action units (HMAUs),
which are formally under TMAC supervision. The four HMAUs comprise three army
units reporting to Army Task Forces and one unit of marines reporting to the
Navy, a structure that has hampered coordination, efficiency and productivity.
Plans to add a fifth HMAU in 2004 were not implemented because of lack of
funds.[44]
TMAC operated with a total of 473 staff for most of 2005, but the armed
forces cut its budget by almost 50 percent, from 38.21 million baht
(approximately US$955,250) in fiscal year 2005 (year ending on 30 September
2005) to 18.21 million baht ($455,250) in fiscal year
2006.[45]As a result, TMAC had to
reduce its staff by nearly half, to 233. The biggest personnel cut was taken by
the HMAUs, which lost 158 people in 2006, representing 55 percent of their
workforce.[46]
TMAC also operates three training centers in the provinces for deminers, mine
risk education (MRE) and mine detection
dogs.[47]The dog center undertook
no training in 2005.[48]
TMAC supports two other humanitarian demining agencies, the Japan Alliance
for Humanitarian Demining Support (JAHDS), which undertook a clearance project
in northeastern Si Sa Ket province on the border with Cambodia, and the General
Chatichai Choonhavan Foundation (GCCF), which undertook clearance in
Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province, also on the Cambodian
border.[49]
A Chinese People’s Liberation Army team of 10 provided training from 7
September to 25 November 2005 for 30 deminers in Thailand, including use of
detectors and Bangalore torpedoes, and explosive ordnance
disposal.[50]Under the program,
which cost more than 40 million baht (about $1
million),[51]China handed over 50
mine detectors, 50 sets of personal protective equipment and
explosives.[52]
Canada provided Promac and Bozena brush cutters to TMAC for testing, which it
carried out between May and November 2005, and protective clothing and masks,
which TMAC started testing in March 2006 and expected to continue testing until
September 2006.[53]
Identification of Mined and ERW-Affected Areas: Surveys and Assessments
The Landmine Impact Survey conducted in 2000-2001 remains the basis for mine
action in Thailand. It found 530 communities affected by landmines, 69 of them
rated as highly impacted, 233 medium impacted and 228 low impacted. Of these,
297 communities were located on the Cambodian border, 139 on the border with
Burma, 90 on the border with Laos and four on the border with Malaysia. The
survey estimated up to 2,557 square kilometers of land was contaminated by
landmines and/or UXO, of which 13 percent (or about 332.88 square kilometers)
was rated as high-impact.[54]
TMAC believed that area reduction could significantly lower the amount of
land requiring clearance and intended to undertake a technical
survey.[55]It planned to undertake
a pilot project in 2005, technically surveying 96,000 square meters of Sa Kaeo
province. This was not implemented due to lack of
funds.[56]
In May 2006, TMAC proposed to Norwegian People’s Aid that it should
manage a technical survey to precisely define areas of contamination and release
the remainder to local communities. TMAC believed that such a survey could
reduce the area for clearance to as little as one-fifth the amount of land
identified as suspect by the Landmine Impact Survey. Therefore, conducting such
a survey was regarded as a critical turning point in the development of
Thailand’s mine action to provide a basis for planning, prioritizing and
targeting the most heavily contaminated areas, potentially generating large
savings in time and money. TMAC hoped it would be possible to start the survey
in 2006.[57]
Mine and ERW Clearance
TMAC reported that its four HMAUs and two other demining operators cleared
5,874,667 square meters of land in 2005―nearly three times more than in
2004 (two square kilometers) and eight times more than cleared in 2003 (718,910
square meters).[58]The increase
was achieved entirely by area reduction, which TMAC initiated in 2005 using
random checks of suspect areas and by “using a database on area
utilization during the last 5-10
years.”[59] However, manual
demining by the HMAUs decreased in 2005 to 746,285 square meters, compared with
1,050,306 square meters in 2004.[60]
Starting in 2005, TMAC assigned half of its HMAU demining teams to area
reduction. Land already in use for some years, for example under ploughed
cultivation for two or three years or already the site of construction, and
where no mine/UXO incident or casualties had been recorded, was targeted for
area reduction. HMAUs revisited the area, repeated interviews with local
people, checked for recent casualties, checked land use and did spot checks with
mine detectors or used mine detection dogs. Land is released to the community
only after it has been approved by the Armed Forces’ Supreme Command;
certificates are then issued by the army to
landowners.[61]
Area (square meters) Cleared and Reduced/Cancelled and Mines and ERW Destroyed
in Thailand in 2005[62]
Operator
Manual clearance
Antipersonnel mines
Antivehicle mines
UXO
AXO
Area reduced or canceled
TMAC
746,285
143
0
48
156,499
5,013,362.5
JAHDS
288,101
5
0
40
67,162
GCCF
48,924
4
0
4
32,359
Total
1,083,310
152
0
92
256,020
5,013,362.5
Two other operators, GCCF and JAHDS, manually cleared a total of 337,025
square meters. In May 2005, JAHDS completed a project started in 2004, and
started a second project in July 2005. The total amount of land cleared by
JAHDS on these two projects in 2005 amounted to 288,101 square
meters.[63]It handed over 318,202
square meters to be used for
ecotourism.[64]GCCF, operating
with 40 deminers, a Unidisk excavator and a tractor, cleared 48,924 square
meters in 2005.[65]
In the first quarter of 2006, TMAC manually cleared 156,029 square meters,
destroying one antipersonnel mine, one UXO and 12,679
AXO.[66]A further 10 square
kilometers of land were ready to be quality assured and likely to be released to
the community during 2006.[67]
JAHDS reported clearing 218,354 square meters between 1 January and 13 June
2006.[68]GCCF conducted no
demining in this period. In April, GCCF started a one-year project to clear
antipersonnel mines and UXO from land near a village in Sa Kaeo province on the
Cambodian border, financed by a $317,821 grant from the Japanese government.
GCCF employed 45 deminers on the project, supported by an excavator and a
tractor provided by the US Department of State and 20 detectors provided by
TMAC.[69]
TMAC also coordinated a demining operation that started in early 2006 to
clear land needed for the construction of a gas pipeline for the Phu Hom
Gasfield Development Project in northeastern Udon Thani province, operated by
Amerada Hess Co. Ltd.[70]TMAC
lacked the staff and budget to undertake the demining, but liaised with the
armed forces to provide former HMAU deminers for clearance, financed by Amerada
Hess.[71]
In April 2006, at a meeting of the foreign ministers of Thailand and Slovenia
in Bangkok, an agreement was made to exchange landmine experts with a view to
the eradication of landmines along the Thai-Cambodian
border.[72]
Mine Risk Education
Organizations involved in mine risk education (MRE) in 2005 included
TMAC’s four HMAUs and five NGOs, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
(ADPC), Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR), General
Chatichai Choonhavan Foundation (GCCF), Handicap International (HI)-Thailand
and, for the first time, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS).
A total of 333,398 people received MRE in 2005, including 271,657 reached by
the HMAUs, 400 by ADPC, 7,106 by COERR, 46,193 by HI’s Disability and
Development Program, 8,018 by HI’s Burmese Border Program and 24 by JRS.
Numbers were not recorded by GCCF. Additionally, up to 1,893,750 people
listened to HI radio spots that included MRE
messages.[73]
From 2000 to the end of 2005, TMAC’s MRE activities reached 1,212
communities (784,661 villagers) and posted 4,553 warning signs. The four HMAUs
are responsible for MRE activities in communities in their operating areas, most
of which are along Thai-Cambodian and Thai-Lao
borders.[74]NGOs conducted MRE
activities mostly in high risk areas along the Thai-Cambodia and Thai-Burma
borders. In 2005, MRE activities in Thailand covered 18 of 27 mine-affected
provinces.
As of March 2006, TMAC had not developed a national MRE plan, but this is
mentioned by TMAC’s director as one of its
priorities.[75]
The MRE capacity in Thailand consists of 32 MRE officers including two HI
technical advisors. The HMAUs have 23 MRE officers, ADPC two, COERR two, JRS
has one, and HI has two officers for the MRE project at Ubonratchathani and Sri
Sa Ket.
TMAC delivered MRE in 417 mine-affected communities in 2005 through its four
HMAUs. The units have community relation teams with a total of 17 MRE
officers.[76]MRE is provided by
the HMAU military officers, who were trained by TMAC’s Mine Awareness
Training Center in Lopburi province. This center was established in 1999 and by
the end of 2005, had provided training for 314 MRE
officers.[77]Six MRE officers work
at the MRE training center. In 2005, it trained 54 new personnel, of which 14
were from the Mekong Organization of Mankind (MOM). MOM was expected to start
an MRE project in Mae Fa Luang district, Chiang Rai province but was awaiting
funding.[78]
HMAU MRE teams spend up to two weeks in one community. Their main activities
are marking―2,040 warning signs were erected in 2005―and
awareness-raising, but presentations also cover other topics such as agriculture
and drugs.[79]Despite TMAC’s
limited budget in 2005, HMAUs found more effective ways to implement MRE and
more than doubled the number of beneficiaries compared with
2004.[80]
ADPC, with support from UNICEF, continued its MRE program for students and
teachers living in mine-affected communities in Mae Hong Son province on the
Thai-Burma border. The project period covered March 2004 to March 2005. Three
hundred students and 100 teachers from 82 schools in Muang, Khun Yuam, Mae
Sariang, Sob Maey and Pang Mapa districts were
trained.[81]A new ADPC project
started in April 2006, again with UNICEF funding. ADPC planned to implement MRE
directly with students by organizing a camp, and to exchange information with
government officers about the landmine situation within their
communities.[82]
In 2005, COERR continued its MRE project, focusing on Aranyaprathet district,
Sa Kaeo province. One hundred teachers and 3,118 students received MRE traning;
indirect beneficiaries were 3,888 villagers who received MRE from their children
who had already been trained by COERR. The trainings were organized before the
end of school semesters in 2005 and 2006 because during school vacations
students usually help their parents, often in mine-contaminated areas. COERR
also invited mine victims to share their experience in some of its MRE
sessions.[83]
GCCF conducted MRE through its civilian deminers when posting mine warning
signs and delivering MRE messages to local people; it did not record the number
of beneficiaries. From May to October 2004, GCCF conducted MRE in Kap Choeng
district, Surin province, with financial support from Japan. GCCF also provided
MRE from mid-2004 to mid-2005 with its demining and victim assistance project in
Namyuen district, Ubonratchathani province, in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo
province, and in Sa Kaeo
province.[84]
HI-Thailand, after completing in April 2005 the MRE project Proactive Mine
Risk Education in Si Sa Ket and Ubonratchathani provinces, used funds awarded by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to train teachers interested in organizing MRE
activities in their own schools; 10 schools in Si Sa Ket and Ubonratchathani
provinces were involved. From August 2005 to March 2006, 46,193 beneficiaries
were reached. Teachers from four schools produced MRE teaching tools. Other
teachers from six schools organized MRE training activities which included
drawing, clay art making and community mapping of mined areas. In April 2006,
HI-Thailand started a one-year project on school-based MRE in Burirum and Surin
provinces with support from
UNICEF.[85]
HI’s Disability and Development Program, with support from the
governmental Committee on Strategy Development for Solving Problems on
Vulnerable Children, completed the 14-month project Development on Quality of
Life of Children with Disability at Border Areas in Si Sa Ket and
Ubonratchathani provinces, in February 2006. HI produced 30 radio spots of two
minutes each on disability prevention and aired them via Si Sa Ket and
Ubonratchathani radio stations; the content covered traffic safety, mother and
child care, and MRE. The radio spots reached up to 1,893,750
people.[86]
In 2005, HI’s Burmese Border Programme continued conducting MRE in nine
refugee camps (one more than in 2004) along the Thai-Burmese border in Tak, Mae
Hong Son, Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi provinces, with support from the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), European Commission Humanitarian Aid
Office (ECHO) and EuropeAid.[87]Six HI MRE advisors and 17 MRE camp staff reached 8,018 people; 5,000 MRE
posters and 10 sets of MRE banners were distributed in the
camps.[88]
In June 2005, JRS started its first one-year MRE project in Shan displaced
people’s community, Pieng Luang sub-district, Wieng Haeng district, Chiang
Mai province. JRS organized a training of trainers workshop for 24 villagers
facilitated by two MRE trainers from HI-Thailand. Trainees were expected to
organize MRE trainings for 600 villagers and 250 students in their
communities.[89]
Funding and Assistance
Three countries reported contributing US$614,441 to mine action in Thailand
in 2005. In 2004, Landmine Monitor identified $964,945 provided by
international donors.[90]Donors in
2005 were:
Australia: A$129,685 ($98,911) to AUSTCARE in partnership with Handicap
International for mine risk education for refugees on the Thai/Burma
border;[91]
Japan: ¥55,884,174 ($507,530) to JAHDS for the second phase of demining
in Kao Phra Vihan near the Thai-Cambodia
border;[92]
In addition, TMAC received in-kind support from China consisting of 50 mine
detectors and other equipment, 20,000 kilograms of explosives, 10 experts and
travel expenses. This contribution was estimated by TMAC as being equivalent to
approximately $1 million.[94]
In the Thai fiscal year 2006 (1 October 2005-30 September 2006), TMAC
received 18.21 million baht ($452,400) from the government through the Ministry
of Defense.[95]This represented
less than half of the 38.21 million baht (about $950,000) received from the
government for the Thai fiscal year
2005.[96]
JAHDS received additional contributions totaling approximately $200,000,
including about $100,000 from Japanese and Korean companies and $100,000 from
private donors, as well as in-kind contributions of equipment from Thai
companies, in 2005.[97]
In 2005, HI-Thailand’s Burmese Border Program received contributions of
18,719,400 baht ($465,055) for MRE and victim assistance, consisting of
10,090,000 baht ($250,670) from ECHO and 800,000 baht ($19,875) from Europe Aid
and 7,829,400 baht ($194,510) from
UNHCR.[98]In addition HI-Thailand
contributed its own funding of 4,200,000 baht ($104,343) to the Burmese Border
Program. HI-Thailand funding for other activities within Thailand came to
2,146,522 baht ($53,327).[99]
Landmine/UXO Casualties
In 2005, at least 51 new landmine/UXO casualties were reported by TMAC,
hospitals, and news media, including one killed and 50
injured.[100]
TMAC’s four humanitarian mine action units recorded 18 new mine
casualties in 2005 (one person killed and 17 injured) ―a decrease from the
24 new casualties recorded by TMAC in
2004.[101]HMAU 1 (covering Sa
Kaeo province) and HMAU 2 (Chanthaburi and Trat provinces) reported three and
two people injured respectively. HMAU 3 (Buri Ram, Surin, Si Sa Ket and
Ubonratchatani provinces) reported one people killed and 12 persons
injured.[102]
Landmine Monitor, through media reports and hospital sources, identified at
least 25 other casualties reported in 2005 not recorded by TMAC (three killed
and 22 injured). Hospitals in Thailand reported at least 19 new mine
casualties; all were injured survivors receiving treatment. Three Thai mine
casualties were identified when referred to Mae Sot General Hospital for
treatment.[103]Phramongkutklao
Hospital in Bangkok reported 16 new mine casualties received
treatment.[104]
Casualties outside HMAU operational areas reported in the media include
incidents on 20 March and 16 April 2005, when one villager lost both legs and
one villager lost one leg in landmine explosions. In a separate incident on 16
April, two teenage boys and a former soldier were killed by an M79 landmine
while tampering with the device in Sadao, Songkhla province. On 14 May in Mae
Hong Son, a villager lost a leg in a mine explosion; the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) covered the cost of medical
assistance.[105]
Casualties continued to be reported in 2006 with at least 14 injured through
May.[106]In January and
February, TMAC reported four new
casualties.[107]Landmine Monitor
identified at least four new casualties from media and hospital sources. On 1
February, a displaced person from Ban Kwai camp, Mae Hong Son province, was
injured when he stepped on a
landmine.[108]From January to
April 2006, Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok reported three new mine
survivors received
treatment.[109]
A Thai official was injured in Burma on 3 May when he stepped on a landmine
at a campsite for workers conducting a feasibility study for the Hutgyi dam near
the border with Mae Hong Son
province.[110]
Although TMAC is developing a nationwide data collection mechanism, casualty
information continues to be derived from HMAUs, which covers only 16 of the 27
provinces identified as high-risk affected areas and operates mainly on the
Thai-Cambodian border. It does not, for example, operate in Mae Fa Luang
district of Chiang Rai province, where the mine contamination is due to conflict
in 2003 along the Thai-Burma
border.[111]
The most comprehensive data collection on casualties remains that of the
nationwide Landmine Impact Survey, which ended in 2001. The survey recorded a
total of 3,468 mine/UXO casualties, of which 1,497 people were killed and 1,971
injured.[112]From 2001 to 2005,
TMAC recorded 89 casualties in its operating area (9 killed and 80
injured).[113]It is estimated
that there are about 100 new mine casualties a year in
Thailand.[114]
As of March 2006, no progress was reported regarding the Ministry of Social
Development and Human Security’s plan to adapt its data collection system
to include mine-related injuries.[115]The matter was discussed at a TMAC seminar on 26-28 April 2006.
Survivor Assistance
At
the First Review Conference in Nairobi, Thailand was identified as one of 24
States Parties with significant numbers of mine survivors and “the
greatest responsibility to act, but also the greatest needs and expectations for
assistance” in providing adequate services for the care, rehabilitation,
and reintegration of survivors.[116]Thailand presented its 2005-2009 objectives at the Sixth Meeting of States
Parties in November-December 2005. The objectives include:
increasing the registration rate of people with
disabilities by 80 percent, including information on the cause of disability to
identify mine survivors and establish a separate dataset for landmine survivors
in highly affected areas; organizing a training workshop for emergency and
medical care, and increasing the number of skilled health personnel at every
level; training survivors and their families in self-help for physical therapy;
building and coordinating a national network for psychosocial reintegration;
extending vocational training and income generation opportunities for people
with disabilities in target areas and improving access to the Rehabilitation
Fund to facilitate self-employment; developing action plans that authorize local
authorities to provide comprehensive services for people with disabilities in
their own communities; developing, improving and implementing effective
legislation to protect the rights of mine survivors and other persons with
disabilities; and improving coordination mechanisms for better quality of life
and care for landmine survivors.[117]
At the Standing Committee meetings in May 2006, the Thai delegation,
which did not include an expert on victim assistance, stated that,
“partnership, participation and policy planning” are key factors to
achieving Thailand’s goals for victim assistance, and that TMAC had worked
with relevant government agencies and NGOs to develop a Master Plan on Victim
Assistance for 2007-2011. Finalized in December 2005, the plan is pending
approval from the National Committee on Humanitarian Mine
Action.[118]
Thailand submitted the voluntary Form J with its annual Article 7 report;
however the only information related to victim assistance was that the Master
Plan was pending approval.
TMAC includes victim assistance in its mine action program and has taken on
the role of coordinator for activities of government agencies and NGOs; however,
it does not include provision for victim assistance in its budget
allocations.[119]None of the monthly reports posted on the TMAC website for January
2005-March 2006 show any victim assistance activities by
TMAC.[120]
In May 2005, TMAC hosted a meeting of representatives from government
agencies and NGOs to integrate victim assistance into the National Socioeconomic
Development Plan (2007-2011). Mine survivors participated in this
meeting.[121]
Thailand’s health system is organized on community, district and
central levels.[122]Generally,
medical assistance available to landmine survivors is adequate; however, most
incidents involve poor marginalized farming families who experience difficulties
coping with the costs of care and rehabilitation. Medical and rehabilitation
services in Thailand are available through the national health insurance
scheme.[123]The Thai government
provides survivors with an allowance to support their necessary emergency
medical treatment.[124]At the
district level, hospitals and public health centers have sufficient capacity and
facilities to provide emergency medical care and rehabilitation services,
particularly for treatment of emergency cases. However, at the community level
there is a lack of
personnel.[125]
Physical rehabilitation services are provided by military hospitals and
public health centers; replacement, adjustment and self-care services are
provided by public or private institutions. Survivors and other people with
disabilities face challenges in accessing rehabilitation services due to the
cost of travel and insufficient supplies of orthopedic devices, and the lack of
trained technicians and government rehabilitation personnel working in
mine-affected areas.[126]
Public health centers, military hospitals and psychiatric hospitals provide
post-traumatic stress counseling, and peer-support groups are available. The
Ministry of Social Development and Human Security is the implementing agency for
socioeconomic reintegration programs for people with disabilities; it runs nine
vocational rehabilitation training centers and community-based rehabilitation
services for people with disabilities in various provinces. The government
covers the cost of vocational training. Economic reintegration and micro-credit
schemes are available to some
extent.[127]The ministry
expanded its community-based rehabilitation pilot program from five to10
provinces between October 2004 and February 2006. Through 250 volunteers,
11,196 people with disabilities were newly identified, and of those, 5,307 were
registered; individual rehabilitation programs were provided for 1,156 people.
Local agencies and the private sector provided support to 22,284 people with
disabilities, or their families, during the
period.[128]The ministry launched an income-generating pilot project in 20 provinces
resulting in 500 people with disabilities gaining employment and income. From
October 2005, the ministry implemented the Employment of Person with
Disabilities Pilot Project in 75 provinces, through which Social Development and
Human Security Offices in 71 provinces employed people with disabilities on a
one-year contract basis.[129]
The Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Center is the main
coordinating organization for the care of people with disabilities. In 2005,
the center distributed 400 prostheses and 400 crutches for its own patients; the
number of mine survivors benefiting is not known. The center produces
approximately the same number of devices for its own patients every year. As
well, the center procured and distributed 2,779 prostheses, 1,496 wheelchairs,
532 pairs of crutches and 334 canes to government hospitals nationwide in
2005.[130]Due to an increasing
number of patients, which include mine casualties, the center requested more
funding and human resources from the
government.[131]In 2006, the
center introduced a mobile prosthetic outreach service, and had conducted four
trips as of April with a vehicle fully equipped for prosthetic production in the
field that was donated by Malteser International
Germany.[132]
The Prosthetic Foundation, under the royal patronage of the late Princess
Mother Sri Nagarindhra, continues to provide mobile prosthetic services in
remote areas and also extended operations to Malaysia and Laos. In 2005, the
foundation provided 1,322 prostheses to 1,002 beneficiaries. Among those who
received services were 169 mine survivors (48 Thais, 120 Laos and one
Malaysian). The number of new mine survivors among those served in 2005 was not
known.[133]
The General Chatichai Choonhavan Foundation, with partial support from Canada
and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, runs the Health Care and
Rehabilitation Program for Landmine Victims. Two prosthetic centers were set up
in Tha Kham sub-district of Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province and in
Namyuen district, Ubonratchathani province. Five landmine survivors from each
province were trained and received technical support from the Prosthetic
Foundation to produce and maintain prostheses in their areas. The centers, both
of which were handed over to local administrative agencies in mid-2005, provided
services free of charge to Thai and Cambodian mine survivors living along the
border. The center in Ubonratchathani provided new prostheses or repairs for 70
persons with disabilities in 2005, and had served 14 in March 2006; most were
mine casualties. In 2005, the Sa Kaeo center produced and distributed 112
prostheses (100 for
survivors).[134]
In 2005, the Foundation of Artificial Limbs (Mahavajiralongkorn) at
Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok distributed six prostheses and six crutches
to survivors in Thailand; all were military or police casualties. The hospital
also supported travel expenses for families of mine survivors, organized peer
group activities and coordinated with other agencies, including the Sai Jai Thai
Foundation, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Social Development and Human
Security, to raise awareness of survivors’ rights under Thai
law.[135]
From December 2004 to February 2006, HI-Thailand
implemented a community-based rehabilitation project, Development of Quality of
Life of Children with Disabilities and Landmine Survivors at Border Areas in Si
Sa Ket and Ubonratchathani provinces, to assist people with disabilities,
including landmine survivors. During the implementation period, prosthetic
repair training was provided to mine survivors, and two prosthetic repair
centers were set up in each province. HI also supported 19 vocational training
projects for people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities,
nine of which were survivor groups. HI assisted and provided support for the
initiation of 25 self-help groups in both provinces: survivors comprised 12 of
the groups; HI plans to continue assistance to the self-help groups through
2006.[136]
The Association of Persons with Physical Disability International (APPDI)
provided 69 wheelchairs, 100 crutches and four orthoses to mine survivors in
2005. A seminar was also conducted to provide support and advice to 40-50 mine
survivors in Si Sa Ket province, with sponsorship of sport activities in Prachin
Buri and Patumthani provinces; 30 percent of the athletes were survivors. It
also continued to support two children of mine survivors with
scholarships.[137]
In 2005, the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR)
supported children of landmine survivors in Sa Kaeo province through the
provision of scholarships, school uniforms, equipment, stationery and other
supplies; 464 children were
assisted.[138]
The Thai Soroptimist International chapter of Dusit, a women’s service
organization, provided eight daughters of landmine survivors in Surin and Sa
Kaeo provinces with a grant for their primary and secondary school education in
2005.[139]
Services for Burmese Refugees
Landmine survivors from Burma seeking assistance in Thailand receive medical
care at hospitals in refugee camps and public district hospitals in the
Thai-Burma border provinces, including Tak, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son,
Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi. At the Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) in Mae Sot district
(Tak province), Médecins Sans Frontières, International Rescue
Committee, American Refugee Committee, Aide Medicale International and Malteser
International Germany, all provide emergency medical referral in Thailand to war
injury survivors who arrive across the border. Prosthetics and rehabilitation
are also available at the MTC prosthetic department, and within refugee camps at
prosthetic workshops run by HI.
In 2005, MTC assisted 14 people with landmine injuries; all were referred to
the government hospital in Mae Sot. From January to April 2006, five new
landmine survivors were treated; four were referred to the Mae Sot hospital.
MTC’s prosthetic department provided prosthetics for 182 people, including
153 mine survivors, in 2005. Each year the clinic trains a new class of medics
to serve people throughout the border region. In early 2005, six people were
undergoing training in prosthetics production. Two trainees were mine survivors
from the Karenni Peoples National Liberation Front, two were from the Karen
National Union, one from the Burmese Health and Welfare Department, and one from
the Karen Handicap Welfare Association. In 2005, the clinic provided basic
medical training for 45 people and a training program for 40 nurses; the
trainees were from refugee camps and backpack health workers. The prosthetic
department received funding from Help Without Frontiers for prosthetic and
surgical supplies, while Clear Path International supported prosthetic training
as well as a new mobile prosthetic
service.[140]The mobile
prosthetic service was launched in mid-2005 through a joint program between the
Prosthetics Section of MTC and the Karen Handicap Welfare Association. Between
June 2005 and March 2006, the joint venture produced and distributed about 80
new prostheses.[141]
In 2005, HI’s Burmese Border Programme assisted 3,507 displaced persons
through rehabilitation activities, and of the 617 survivors in eight refugee
camps along the Thai-Burmese border, 523 were registered in its database. The
four prosthetic workshops in the camps assisted 195 mine survivors and other
amputees in 2005. From January to February 2006, 1,499 persons received
rehabilitation services, with prostheses and simple assistive devices provided
to 302 people who were either mine casualties or had a physical disability.
During the same period, 52 assistive devices were distributed: nine crutches,
six wheelchairs and 37 other
devices.[142]
In 2005, Mae Sot General Hospital, Mae Sot district, Tak province, assisted
26 mine survivors (three Thai, 12 Burmese, 11 Karen). In 2005, the hospital
provided prosthetic fitting or repair services to 113 patients (65 mine
survivors), and distributed 16 wheelchairs, 470 crutches, 64 walkers and 56
canes. From January to February 2006, prosthetic services were provided to 25
patients (19 mine survivors), and the hospital distributed 50 crutches, 22
walkers, and three wheelchairs. Of the survivors assisted, two were Burmese and
two were Karen.[143]
The Karen Handicap Welfare Association established a hostel in Mae La refugee
camp for disabled persons called Care Villa. In 2005, 12 of the 15 residents
were landmine survivors. Care Villa provided training in radio mechanic work,
livelihood and crafts making, musical instruments and English as a second
language to residents in an effort to motivate
them.[144]Ten percent of the
Section Leaders within the refugee camp are disabled and 80-90 percent are
landmine survivors.[145]Care
Villa received a small operating budget from Clear Path International that
included support for prosthetic measuring tools for backpack health
workers.[146]
The Shan Health Committee in Piang Luang, Thailand, is within sight of the
Burmese border and maintains two sub-clinics in Fang district specifically for
the treatment of mine casualties; however, recent cases were referred to
hospitals in Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, and to Piang Luang subdistrict. It
estimates that there are 500 survivors of landmine incidents within Shan
state.[147]The prosthetics
clinic is managed by two technicians who are also landmine survivors: both were
trained as technicians at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, and in 2005, they
assisted 74 patients.[148]The
Piang Luang technicians received their training under a grant from Clear Path
International, which also helped equip the facility and provided an initial
operating
budget.[149]
Srisangwal Hospital in Mae Hong Son province, assisted eight mine survivors,
all of whom were from Burma.[150]
In 2005, Malteser International Germany employed mine survivors within their
organization, which provides emergency relief, public health and primary home
care.[151]
The ICRC War Wounded program, which assists persons injured by conflict,
received 88 patients from Burma for medical care in Thai hospitals: 60 were
injured by mines and 84 were men. The ICRC’s program provides for the
initial hospitalization costs, while referring partner organizations to cover
transfer and follow-up
costs.[152]
Follow-up or post-amputation care was also supported by Norwegian Church Aid,
Burma Relief Center and Inter-Church Organization for Development Cooperation
(Netherlands).[153]
JRS played a coordinating role to support the participation of landmines
survivors in all landmine-related meetings in Thailand in 2005, and also
continued to support TCBL with a full-time assistant to the TCBL
coordinator.[154]In 2005, JRS
donated 50 blankets to landmine survivors, people with disabilities and elderly
persons in Ta Phraya, Sa Kaeo
province.[155]
Backpack Health Worker teams run an independent
medical service from Thailand into rebel-controlled areas of Burma―Mon,
Karen, Karenni and Shan states―to provide public health education and
emergency care, including amputation for mine
casualties.[156]Some receive
medical training from the International Rescue Committee
(IRC).[157]As of April 2006, six
of the 120 health workers active with the Backpack Health Worker teams had died
on mission.[158]
Disability Policy and Practice
Thailand has legislation and policies to protect the rights of people with
disabilities. Three main ministries are assigned to promote the interests of
people with disabilities: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Health and
Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. The latter has direct
responsibility for disability issues through the Office of Empowerment for
Persons with
Disabilities.[159]In 2005, the Committee for the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
appointed 16 subcommittees to review or undertake matters assigned by the
committee.[160]
People with disabilities registered with the government are entitled to free
medical examinations, wheelchairs and crutches.
In 2005, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a request for the
inclusion of mine action in the tenth National Socioeconomic Development Plan
2007-2011 (NSDP); a subcommittee drafted the tenth NSDP guidelines for the
disability plan. The Ministry of Interior announced new accessibility
regulations for public buildings and
facilities.[161]
In 2005, legislation was strengthened to impose penalties on businesses and
organizations when they fail to provide employment for people with
disabilities.[162]
Organizations of people with disabilities are active in Thailand, raising
awareness on their rights and needs, and lobbying the government for
action.[163]Throughout 2005 and
in 2006, there were numerous activities conducted by or for people with
disabilities. The Association of Persons with Physical Disability International
was accepted as a member of Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines in November
2005.
[1] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, Director General, Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC),
Bangkok, 14 February 2006; interview with Kittipong na Ranong, Ambassador to the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok, 15 February
2006. [2] Previous reports were submitted
on 25 April 2005, 3 May 2004, 22 July 2003, 30 April 2002, 17 April 2001, 2 May
2000 and 10 November 1999. [3] Statement by Dr. Chaiyong
Satjipanon, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN in
Geneva, Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Zagreb, 28 November 2005. [4] Statement by Dr. Chaiyong
Satjipanon, Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Zagreb, 28 November 2005. [5] See www.humansecuritynetwork.org. [6] Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Newsletter, “Thailand’s Activity to Ban Landmines,” 7 April
2006; “Thailand Pushes on Solving Mines Problem,” (in Thai),
www.mfa.go.th, accessed 20 April 2006. [7] Email from Sermsiri Ingavanija,
Assistant Coordinator, TCBL, JRS Asia Pacific, Bangkok, 22 February 2006. [8] Telephone interview with Maj.
Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 24 February 2006. [9] This list is based on the
types of mines in stock that Thailand later destroyed. [10] Interviews with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 17 March and 20 April 2006. He said the
insurgents made IEDs with TNT smuggled from foreign countries. [11] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 811-812. [12] Types of antipersonnel mines
in stockpile included M2, M2A, M4, M14, M16, M16A1, M26, Type 66, Type 69, Type
72, PAM2, VAR40, VS50 and PMN. Article 7 Report, Form B, 17 April 2001. [13] Article 7 Report, Form D, 25
April 2006. Form D and Form B cite a figure of 4,761 mines retained, but the
individual numbers for mines in Form D add up to 4,871. Form D indicates that
99 M14 mines (80 Police, 19 Air Force) were consumed, but according to TMAC,
another 110 were consumed (likely Police M16s). There are several other errors
in the sub-totals in the chart presented in Form D. [14] Telephone interview with
Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 20 April 2006; telephone
interview with Col. Primprow Amarapitak, Chief of Special Affairs Division,
TMAC, Bangkok, 30 May 2006. [15] Article 7 Report, Form B, 10
November 1999. Other than this first report, Thailand has not included
information in its Article 7 reports on stockpiled Claymore mines. [16] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 19 April 2005. Use of Claymore mines with
a tripwire is illegal under the Mine Ban Treaty. [17] Letter No. Tor Chor 0009.4
3361, from Maj. Gen. Sajja Khochahiran, Commander of Division of Logistics and
Ordnances, Royal Thai Police, Bangkok, 26 May 2006. The mines included three
each of T69, M14 and PMN, and one each of M18 and TM46. [18] Under Protocol V to the
Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), explosive remnants of war are defined
as unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO). Mines are
explicitly excluded from the definition. TMAC reports clearance of small
amounts of UXO and larger amounts of AXO in 2005; the origins and location of
AXO in Thailand are unclear. [19] Survey Action Center (SAC)
and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), “Landmine Impact Survey: Kingdom
of Thailand,” 2001, pp. 7, 17. [20] Statement by Thailand, Sixth
Meeting of States Parties, Zagreb, 30 November 2005. [21] Telephone interview with
Suthikiet Sopanik, Director, General Chatichai Choonhavan Foundation (GCCF),
Bangkok, 8 June 2006. [22] SAC/NPA, “Landmine
Impact Survey: Kingdom of Thailand,” 2001, pp. 9, 88. [23] Ibid, p. 91. [24] Telephone interview with
Col. Narongrit Suwanbubpha, Chief of Operation, Cooperation, and Evaluation
Division, TMAC, 20 March 2006; Landmine Monitor (MAC) interview with Chiang Mai
province residents, January 2006. [25] The committee did not reply
to a letter from the newly-elected government asking for confirmation of its
status and as a result, its mandate was not renewed. Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 14 February 2006; interview with Kittipong
na Ranong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok, 15 February 2006. [26] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 14 February 2006. [27] Ibid. [28] Achara Ashayagachat,
“Clearing the Border: Landmine Goal Unlikely to be Reached,”
Bangkok Post, 25 November 2005, p. 4. [29] Email from Kittipong na
Ranong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 April 2006. [30] Letter from TMAC to Handicap
International (HI), 15 December 2005. The meetings were organized by TMAC and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attended by representatives of the Ministry
of Public Health, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, the
Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the National Economic and
Social Development Board and NGOs. [31] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 14 February 2006. [32] Ibid, 31 May 2006. [33] Stuart Maslen, Mine
Action After Diana, Progress in the Struggle Against Landmines, (London:
Pluto, 2004), p. 141. [34] Interview with Chuck Conley,
Senior Information Management Officer, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation
(VVAF) and Ruangdech Poungprom, Database Consultant, VVAF, Bangkok, 19 April
2006. [35] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 31 May 2006. [36] Telephone interview with
Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 20 April 2006. [37] Interviews with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 27 December 2005 and 17 March 2006. [38] The LIS identified 2,557
square kilometers as mine contaminated. By the end of 2005, total land cleared
amounted to 8.17 square kilometers. [39] Statement by Dr. Chaiyong
Satjipanon, Sixth Meeting of the States Parties, Zagreb, 28 November 2005. [40] Statement by Thailand,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006. [41] Interview with Kittipong na
Ranong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok, 15 February 2006; TMAC, Minutes of
Meeting on Victim Assistance held at TMAC on 22 December 2005, p. 10. [42] Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
“Implementation of antipersonnel mine action,” Letter MFA 1005/350
to the Prime Minister (unofficial translation), 16 March 2006. [43] Kavi Chongkittavorn,
“Thailand needs to do more than paying lip service to removal of land
mines,” Editorial, The Nation, 24 May 2006, p. 8A. [44] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 567. [45] Article 7 Report, Form J, 25
April 2006. [46] TMAC, “Personnel Data:
Comparison of Fiscal Year 2005 to 2006, Policy and Planning Division,”
received on 17 March 2006. [47] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 567. [48] Presentation by TMAC, Human
Security Network meeting, Bangkok, 27 February 2006. [49] Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire from Maj. Siwachai Thubthimpas, Chief of Policy and Planning
Division, TMAC, Bangkok, 23 February 2006. [50] Bangalore torpedoes are used
in a minefield breaching technique that involves placing pipes packed with
explosive across contaminated land and detonating them in order to explode the
mines. [51] Interviews with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 14 February and 17 March 2006; Article 7
Report, Form J, 25 April 2006. [52] Statement by Thailand, Sixth
Meeting of the States Parties, Zagreb, 28 November 2005; interviews with Maj.
Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 14 February and 17 March 2006;
“Chinese Experts to Help Landmine Clearance in Thailand,”
www.chinaview.cn, accessed 7 September 2005; China’s CCW Amended Protocol
II Article 13 Report, Form E, 26 October 2005. [53] Interviews with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 14 February, 17 March and 4 May 2006. [54] SAC/NPA, “Landmine
Impact Survey: Kingdom of Thailand,” 2001, pp. 8-17. [55] Statement by Thailand, Sixth
Meeting of the States Parties, Zagreb, 30 November 2005. [56] Telephone interview with
Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 24 May 2006; see
Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 568. [57] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 31 May 2006. [58] TMAC Database Center,
“Monthly Report of Humanitarian Mine Action in Thailand: January-December
2005,” received on 17 March 2006; response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Maj. Siwachai Thubthimpas, TMAC, Bangkok, 23 February 2006;
see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 568. [59] Statement by Thailand,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006. [60] Telephone interview with
Sgt. Apol Lamjeak, Database Officer, TMAC, 16 May 2006. [61] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 31 May 2006. [62] The Article 7 report for
2005 records total land cleared in 2005 as 5,975,594 square meters. TMAC
database staff believe the Article 7 figures were based on preliminary data.
Telephone interview with Sgt. Apol Lamjeak, TMAC, 16 May 2006. [63] Telephone interviews with
Tripop Trimanka, Field Manager, JAHDS, 14 and 16 June 2006. [64] Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Amornchai Sirisai, JAHDS, Bangkok, 24 February 2006. [65] Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Suthikiet Sopanik, GCCF, Bangkok, 24 May 2005; interview with
Thanakorn Akethadanon, General Manager, GCCF, Bangkok, 16 March 2006. [66] TMAC, “Monthly Report
of Humanitarian Mine Action in Thailand: January and March 2006”;
telephone interviews with Sgt. Apol Lamjeak, TMAC, Bangkok, 17 March and 4 May
2006. [67] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 31 May 2006. [68] Telephone interviews with
Tripop Trimanka, JAHDS, 14 and 16 June 2006. [69] Telephone interview with
Suthikiet Sopanik, GCCF, Bangkok, 8 June 2006. [70] Interview with Col.
Watcharin Suebsumphan, Deputy Chief, Policy and Planning Division, TMAC,
Bangkok, 17 March 2006. [71] Telephone interview with
Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 20 April 2006. [72] “Thailand and Slovenia
to boost economic cooperation and increase trade volume,” Thai News
Service, Bangkok, 28 April 2006. [73] TMAC, “Monthly Report
of Humanitarian Mine Action in Thailand: January-December 2005,” received
17 March 2006. This figure does not correspond with the annual report on the
TMAC website; information provided by ADPC, COERR, GCCF, HI-Thailand and JRS
Asia Pacific, cited elsewhere in this report. [74] TMAC, “Summary of
Humanitarian Mine Action in Thailand Year 2000-2005,” www.tmac.go.th. [75] Interview with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 14 February 2006. [76] Telephone interview with
Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 4 May 2006. [77] Telephone interview with
Col. Siwachai Thubthimpas, TMAC, 13 March 2006. [78] Telephone interview with
Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 4 May 2006. [79] Telephone interview with
Cap. Adirek Pattanamongkol, Commander, HMAU 2, 24 February 2006. [80] Telephone interview with
Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 4 May 2006. [81] Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Perawoot Tanmapimonta, ADPC, 22 February 2006; see Landmine
Monitor Report 2005, p. 570. ADPC is an international NGO based in Bangkok,
www.adpc.net. [82] Telephone interview with
Sirikarn Kahattha, Government Relations Coordinator, ADPC, Bangkok, 26 April
2006. [83] Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Kruemas Ponprateep, Assistant Operations Director, COERR, 13
March 2006; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 570. COERR is a
national NGO, established by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand
in 1978, www.coerr.org. MRE activities began
in 2001; see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 491. [84] Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Chanut Sukong, Coordinator, GCCF, 16 March 2006; see
Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 573. [85] Information provided by
Prapanrat Kochasena, Project Coordinator, HI-Thailand, 21 February 2006; email
from Shushira Chonhenchob, Disability and Development Manager, HI-Thailand, 27
April 2006; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 569. [86] Information provided by
Jaruwan Tiwasiri, Project Coordinator, Disability and Development Programme,
HI-Thailand, 22 February 2006. [87] Interview with Paul Steward
Yon, HI-Thailand, Bangkok, 7 March 2006; interview with Yvan Thebaud, Programme
Director, HI-Thailand, Mae Sot, 22 June 2006. [88] Interview with Paul Steward
Yon, Burmese Border Programme Manager, HI-Thailand, Bangkok, 7 March 2006. [89] Response to Landmine Monitor
Questionnaire by Sermsiri Ingavanija, TCBL/JRS, 21 February 2006. [90] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 570. [91] Email from Katheryn Bennett,
AusAID, 30 June 2006. A$1 = US$0.7627, used throughout this report. US Federal
Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006. This
amount was reported as a contribution to mine action in Burma. [92] Emails from Kitagawa Yasu,
Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines (JCBL), March-May 2006, with translated
information received by JCBL from the Humanitarian Assistance Division,
Multilateral Cooperation Department, 11 May 2005 and Conventional Arms Division,
Non-proliferation and Science Department, 11 April 2006. Average exchange rate
for 2005: US$1 = ¥110.11. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange
Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006. [93] USG Historical Chart
containing data for FY 2005, by email from Angela L. Jeffries, Financial
Management Specialist, US Department of State, 8 June 2006. The use of these
funds is not known. [94] Statement by Thailand, Sixth
Meeting of States Parties, Zagreb, 28 November 2005; interviews with Maj. Gen.
Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 14 February and 17 March 2006; China CCW
Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form E, 26 October 2005. [95] Average exchange for 2005:
baht 40.252 = US$1. US Federal Reserve, “Foreign Exchange Rates
(Annual),” 3 January 2006; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p.
570. [96] Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
“Implementation of antipersonnel mine action,” Letter MFA 1005/350
to the Prime Minister (unofficial translation), 16 March 2006; Article 7 Report,
Form J, 25 April 2006; Achara Ashayagachat, “Cleaning the Border: Landmine
Goal Unlikely to be Reached” Bangkok Post, 25 November 2005. See
Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 570. Average exchange for 2004: baht
40.271 = US$1. US Federal Reserve, “Foreign Exchange Rates
(Annual),” 3 January 2005. [97] Email from Nattapong
Padpraprom, Assistant Manager, JAHDS, 10 March 2006. [98] Some of these funds were
used in programs for both Burmese refugees and landmine survivors. [99] Information provided by
Jutamas Samanna, Financial Manager, HI-Thailand, 16 March and 3 May 2006. [100] Email from Shushira
Chonhenchob, HI-Thailand, 23 June 2006. [101] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 571. [102] TMAC, “Report of
Humanitarian Mine Action in Thailand in 2005,” www.tmac.go.th, accessed 14
February 2006. [103] Interview with Bang-on
Janyaka, Nurse, Udom Sittikai, Prosthetic & Orthotic Technician, and Ampha
Kreuwilai, Care Helper, Mae Sot General Hospital, Tak, 7 March 2006;
“Summary Report of casualties in border area,” Mae Sot General
Hospital, Tak, 2005 (received 7 March 2006). [104] Telephone interview with
Lt. Col. Wanpen Phrammananan, Head Officer of Mahavajiralongkorn Building 5,
Phramongkutklao Hospital, Bangkok, 2 May 2006. [105] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 571. [106] Email from Shushira
Chonhenchob, HI-Thailand, 23 June 2006. [107] TMAC, “Monthly
Report of Humanitarian Mine Action in Thailand: January 2006.” [108] HI, “Monthly
Report, February 2006, Burmese Border Program (BBP),” Thailand, 16 March
2006; email to from Paul Steward Yon, HI-Thailand, 16 March 2006. [109] Telephone interview with
Lt. Col. Wanpen Phrammananan, Phramongkutklao Hospital, Bangkok, 2 May 2006. [110] “New call to scrap
dams after geologist loses leg,” Bangkok Post, 5 May 2006. [111] Telephone interview with
Col. Narongrit Suwanbubpha, TMAC, 20 March 2006. [112] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 811-812. [113] TMAC, “Summary of
Humanitarian Mine Action in Thailand 2000-2005.” [114] Statement by Thailand,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration,
Geneva, 16 June 2005. [115] Statement by Thailand,
Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Zagreb, 1 December 2005; telephone interview
with Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 20 April 2006. [116] UN, “Final Report,
First Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction,” Nairobi, 29 November-3 December 2004,
APLC/CONF/2004/5, 9 February 2005, p. 33. [117] “Final Report of
the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II,
Annex V, “Victim Assistance objectives of the States Parties that have the
responsibility for significant numbers of landmine survivors,” Zagreb, 28
November-2 December 2005, pp. 204-211. [118] Statement by Thailand,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration,
Geneva, 8 May 2006. [119] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 572. [120] Landmine Monitor analysis
of TMAC monthly reports from January 2005 to March 2006. [121] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 572. [122] “Final Report of
the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II,
Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, p. 205. [123] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 812. [124] Statement by Thailand,
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration,
Geneva, 8 May 2006. [125] “Final Report of
the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II,
Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 205-206. [126] “Final Report of
the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II,
Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 206-207; statement by
Thailand, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration, Geneva, 8 May 2006. [127] “Final Report of
the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II,
Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 207-210. [128] Bureau of Empowerment for
Persons with Disabilities, “Report of Community-Based Rehabilitation in 10
provinces during October 2004-February 2006,” Bangkok, 10 March 2006.
[129] Interview with Suttida
Jutamas, Head of Employment Promotion for Persons with Disabilities Institute,
Bureau of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities, Bangkok, 17 March 2006;
telephone interview with Jintana Sathuphan, Social Worker, Bureau of Empowerment
for Person with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security,
19 May 2006. [130] Telephone interview with
Dr. Piyawit Soramaetha, Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Center
(SNMRC), Nonthabuti, 24 May 2006; telephone interview with Supattra
Yingmuangmarn, Nurse, SNMRC, Nonthabuti, 2 June 2006. [131] Response to Landmine
Monitor VA Questionnaire by Dr. Piyawit Soramaetha, Nonthabuti, 25 February
2006; telephone interview with Dr. Piyawit Soramaetha, SNMRC, Nonthabuti, 16
March 2006; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 816. [132] “Mobile Prosthetic
Workshop to Serve Disabled People,” www.matichon.co.th, accessed 20 April
2006. [133] Telephone interviews with
Ammarawadee Thanuchai, Administrative Officer, Prosthetic Foundation, Chiang
Mai, 14 March and 19 May 2006. [134] Response to Landmine
Monitor VA Questionnaire by Thanakorn Akethadanon, GCCF, Bangkok, 16 March 2006;
email from Shushira Chonhenchob, HI-Thailand, 30 March 2006. [135] Response to Landmine
Monitor VA Questionnaire by Lt. Col. Wanpen Phrammananan, Phramongkutklao
Hospital, Bangkok, 14 March 2006. [136] Response to Landmine
Monitor VA Questionnaire by Jaruwan Tiwasiri, HI-Thailand, 24 February 2006. [137] Response to Landmine
Monitor VA Questionnaire from Maj. Sirichai Sapsiri, President, APPDI, Bangkok,
24 February 2006; telephone interview with Maj. Sirichai Sapsiri, APPDI,
Bangkok, 16 March 2006. [138] Telephone interview with
Charatkorn Mankhatitham, Operations Manager, COERR, 2 May 2006. [139] Email from Sermsiri
Ingavanija, TCBL/JRS, Bangkok, 22 February 2006. [140] Interview with Dr.
Cynthia Maung, Director, and with the Manager for Prosthetic and Orthotic
Department, Mae Tao Clinic, Tak, 8 March 2006; email from Somsak Thanaborikon,
Field Coordinator, International Rescue Committee, Mae Sot, 10 March 2006; email
from Imbert Matthee, Board President, Clear Path International (CPI), Seattle, 1
May 2006. [141] Interviews with staff
members, Mae Tao Clinic, Mae Sot, 6 March 2006; email from Imbert Matthee, CPI,
1 May 2006. [142] HI, “Monthly
Report,” February 2006, pp. 3-7; email from Paul Steward Yon, HI-Thailand,
16 March 2006. [143] Interview with Bang-on
Janyaka, Udom Sittikai and Ampha Kreuwilai, Mae Sot General Hospital, Tak, 7
March 2006; “Summary Report of Casualties in Tak Border Area, 2005,”
Mae Sot General Hospital, Tak, received 7 March 2006. [144] Interview with Saw
Mordechai, Care Villa, Mae La Camp, Tak,7 March 2006. [145] Interview with a security
officer, Mae La Camp, Tak, 7 March 2006. [146] Email from Imbert
Matthee, CPI, 1 May 2006. [147] Interview with Shan
Health Committee, Chiang Mai, 12 January 2006. [148] Interview with staff of
the Prosthesis Clinic, Piang Luang, 12 January 2006. [149] Email from Imbert
Matthee, CPI, 1 May 2006; CPI, “Assisting Refugee Landmine survivors on
the Thai-Burma Border,” www.cpi.org,
accessed 30 April 2006. [150] Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Sumeth Napawetchakol, Prosthetic Technician, Srisangwal
Hospital, Mae Hong Son, 14 March 2006. [151] Response to Landmine
Monitor Questionnaire by Dr. Charlotte Adamczick, Health Coordinator, MI, Mae
Sariang, 28 February 2006. [152] Letter in response to a
request for information from the Landmine Monitor. ICRC Bangkok Regional
Delegation, 27 March 2006. [153] Email from Somsak
Thanaborikon, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Mae Sot, 10 March 2006. [154] Telephone interview with
Sermsiri Ingavanija, TCBL/JRS, Bangkok, 3 May 2006. [155] Email from Sermsiri
Ingavanija, TCBL/JRS, Bangkok, 22 February 2006. [156] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 686. [157] Interview with Dr.
Cynthia Maung and with the Manager for Prosthetic and Orthotic Department, Mae
Tao Clinic, Tak, 8 March 2006; email from Somsak Thanaborikon, IRC, 10 March
2006. [158] “Hopkins intercedes
in Burmese fight for health,” The Johns Hopkins Newsletter
(Washington), 7 April 2006. [159] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 816-817; “Current Situation of Persons with
Disabilities,” www.apcdproject.org, accessed 15 May
2006. [160] Information provided to
Landmine Monitor by Ubonthip Petchoo, Social Development Officer, and Barame
Rangsibrahmanakul, Head of Policy and Planning Department, Bureau of Empowerment
for Persons with Disabilities, Bangkok, 17 March 2006. [161] Ministry of Interior,
“Thailand Launched the Ministerial Regulations on Accessibility, Bangkok,
Thailand,” 1 September 2005. [162] Statement by Thailand,
Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Zagreb, 1 December 2005. [163] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, pp. 575-576.
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