Dr. KK Tamang (PhD)
Six
civilians killed in Maoist-laid bomb blast reads The Kathmandu Post of February
13, 2004 followed by excerpts like a report from Palpa stated that an eight-
year old boy died and four others, including three minors, sustained serious
injuries after a bomb, reportedly left behind by Maoists, went off when the
youngsters began playing with it out of curiosity at Arbhasing village. Similar
incident of Bhaktapur blast injures two bystanders at the grill shop according
to the Kantipur, Nepali National Daily of February 17, 2004. The same paper dated
March 3, 2004 adores its front page with large bold headings reading the death
of two boys of 12 and 15 years age while their tilling father sustains injuries
in the field. The rebels were reportedly planted the bombs two weeks ago in
fighting the security forces. Such happenings these days have become a so
common phenomenon in Nepal that it has become ubiquitous. Almost every day we
are inundated with war news and opinions and accustomed to them. Not long ago
this country known to foreigners as peace zone has now a different scenario and
the bygone history sounds like mockery to Nepali people. This is very apt here
to mention that the very land borne lord Buddha, the synonym for non-violence
and the world today looks upon His country as the symbol of peace and her
people peace lovers. However to great dismay the prevalent situation is that
all to its contrary despite the land itself has an exemplary diversity, unity
and tolerance in matters of culture, religion and so on regardless of any caste
or creed. It is a pity to read school goers, farmers or just pedestrians
sustaining injuries and even sometimes death.
Therefore it is high time for Nepali people to learn of
explosive items stranded on road side, field or nook corners to avoid getting
hurt. It is the rebels who either leave them negligently or find no time enough
to bother about them without any thought for the safety of general laymen if
not for security personnel.
In
countries like Kosovo, Bosnia, Sarajevo or any war suffered countries the mines
and UXO awareness with much emphasis is focused to the general public, the
volunteers for humanitarian actions and the security personnel, which is
brought widely into the notice of the people through media and advertisement.
In a bid to avert casualties from accidental blasts places of public meeting
point like the District Police Office or District Administration Office can be
ideal where gardens with dummy mines and signs could be put on display. We have
experience of last few years doing the traffic or civic sense awareness
programmes launch for the public and school children. Likewise mines and
unexploded ordnance (UXO) awareness programmes' launching is equally felt
imminent.
Therefore a new issue of mines, UXO and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD)
awareness induction classes subjective and relevant action in the interest of
public welfare should be conducted with settings of mine and sign gardens
whereby general laymen would be aware of unidentified objects. Mine garden shows
variety of mines on display to the children, women and novice that helps them
learn of such materials just in case. Sign garden on the other hand gives idea
of the places likely to be encountered. Apart from the official and non
official signs the locations of relevance to the military activities, events of
explosion or skirmishes, the barracks, bunkers, ditches, craters where debris
of ammunition and containers or its fragments and such keep on giving
indications of their past or current presence.
Because mines do not require people to operate them, their use enables the
defending force to focus its military personnel elsewhere. Mines are easy to
lie, and once laid, a minefield does not need to be maintained. Above all they
can be made simply with inexpensive materials, and they require little training
and no specialized tools to plant them. These advantages, combined with their
low price, have led to their widespread use in civil wars and rebellions. They
can be as hazardous as just 2 grams of high explosive (HE) hardly the same
weight, as the coin would be enough to blow off a hand palm vis-à-vis that with
the amount of HE in a mine, which varies from 35 gm up to 5 kg or 10 kg or even
more any amount.
Rebels in Nepal have devised their own type of mines, though locally handmade,
in no way less lethal to those of the ordnance. Metal scraps, steel nails,
balls of bearings like solid stuff put into the hollow containers like
galvanized iron pipe sockets, pressure cooker, buckets, steel jars, gas
cylinders, milk cans and anything found nearby are being used. So much so they
are found having using mobile phones, pager circuits, time devices and
sophisticated measures with double bluff tactics warfare techniques.
Laying mines on land can be as simple as scattering around small matchbox-sized
mines from a helicopter or airplane, but most land mines are buried by hand. A
trained 40-soldier team can lay 125 antitank or 600 antipersonnel mines an hour
in daylight. Mine laying vehicles can turn up the dirt, plant the mine, and
cover over the trench in one operation. In conventional warfare it is done with
the military ethics complying with the law of armed conflict (LOAC) along
certain code and formulae so that at the end of the war when the situation
comes to a cease fire or reconciliation the mining details need handed over
ultimately to the demining agencies. The failure of doing the same poses
threats to countrymen in the days to come. Minefields according to the
humanitarian law are not without any notice or warning. But being driven with
emotion, vengeance, ignorance and arrogance no such methods are seen applied
particularly in Nepal so far. They are used for certain randomly without any
warning notice, records, details nor any pictorial graph or diagrams.
As
the fate has it for the store, the conflict is incessantly in progress and the
Maoists have not turned up to offer an olive branch at the moment. Till date no
agencies seem come forward with slightest idea of programmes preventing further
loss. It is only then made huge hue and cry when the papers read and highlight
events of innocent lives already lost or on the verges. Mr. Martin Rutsch, ex
brigadier general, the delegate to the armed and security forces from
International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) admits the need of such programmes
whereas the Deputy Inspector General Shiva Raj Gauli, the brigadier for mid
west regional Armed Police Force when asked also opines in the same line.
It
is not a question of who did put the bomb or left it for the enemy of the
other. Generally mines or the explosives of its kind are found by the victims
themselves not to realize what caused their untimely death but only to be
seldom survivor to describe it.
UXO
are different from mines. It is ammunition, which has not or has been fired,
but has failed to explode. That doesn't mean that a UXO is safe to handle. In
fact, it is extremely unstable, unpredictable and can be set off by the
slightest touch. Ammunition is normally designed to cause as much destruction
as possible. So when ammunition turns into UXO they are considered very
sensitive and any moment with slightest tampering, wind blow or changes in the
temperature, weather or climate could make them go off. Like mines
ammunition/UXO come in various shapes, sizes and colours. Examples of UXO are
bullets, rounds, mortars, grenades, shells, rockets, missiles and bombs even
mine.
It
is not necessary that all the times only the rebels deliberately and ostensibly
leave behind the explosive items and not the security forces. To be honest no
UXO ever distinguishes a civilian or armed force from the rebels. UXO can be
compared with a little sleeping boy to disturb it a gentle touch would suffice.
To keep bereft the civilians and non-combatant people from being ushered to
blast it is necessary that unclaimed, unidentified and unattended items be not
handled by them. A message of STOP is imperative for the laymen that is 'S' for
stop, not to move from the location you see such suspicious objects. 'T' for
think what could it be and the nearest point where from help could reach you.
'O' for orientate which means use your head where you are and how to ask for
help. The last 'P' for plan as to how can you escape the location unhurt or
give rendezvous to your rescuer. The simple formula is, "Don't Touch That
You Didn't Put It."
After all the intrinsic motto of the security forces
incorporates safety and safeguard of the public life and property which is why
not it be commendable to apprise them of the objects that could subject them to
harm. Don't you agree with the philosophy of prevention is better than cure? I
do.
(The author had served as an International
Instructor of Mines/UXO in Kosovo UN Police Training Center, Pristine 2001-2002)
Published in:
Khabarovask
State Academy of Economics and Law, Russia - Aug 2007
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