Nicaragua Gets Rid of Landmines, Foments Peace

This Central American nation is achieving its goal of destroying the anti-personnel mines in the army's inventory.

MANAGUA - Nicaragua has so far eliminated 63 percent of the landmines planted in the country during the civil war in the 1980s, a notable effort towards becoming a territory free of these weapons that do not win wars but mutilate and kill innocent civilians.

In the current international pre-war climate, the result of Nicaragua's efforts sends an encouraging message of the fight for the demilitarization of the planet, says the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

From 1982 to 1999, during the conflict between the leftist Sandinista government and the "contra" rebels, financed by the United States, 135,643 landmines were placed in Nicaraguan soil. As of December, 85,917 of those were destroyed, according to the National De-Mining Commission.

Nicaragua also achieved the objective of destroying 133,435 mines stored by the army before March 1, as demanded by the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, production, transfer or storage of these explosives), ratified by this country in 1998.

But still pending is the removal of 49,726 mines disseminated over 209 different areas.

Total mined territory reached 409 square km in 70 of Nicaragua's 145 municipalities. These small bombs had also been placed on 39 bridges, 323 high-tension electrical towers and three energy plans, as well as at military and communications installations.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch changed the location of many mines, which were dragged elsewhere by floods, complicating efforts to remove them.

Anti-personnel mines are seen as one of the worst scars of the war because they have affected vast areas of production and infrastructure, but mostly because they have claimed many human lives.

The presence of these weapons "constitutes a social problem that interferes with development and slashes at human dignity," defense minister José Adán Guerra told Tierramérica.

The de-mining endeavor is part of a state humanitarian policy in that the landmines are an obstacle to the economic progress of the communities where they are found, he added.

"The hard work of the national and international authorities and institutions in their joint effort to prevent the accidents caused by these devices allows us to be optimistic about the results of this project," ICRC spokesman for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, Jaime Saúl Arroyo, said in a conversation with Tierramérica.

The effectiveness of the warnings about the dangers of living in mined areas "should be evident in the reduction of the number of mine-related incidents," he said.

Between 1984 and 1999, 600 accidental mine detonations killed 575 people in Nicaragua, most of them civilian.

Last year, however, only six such incidents occurred, and all were during the military's efforts to remove the mines, Arroyo noted.

Making Nicaragua into a model of demilitarization at this stage is possible because of international financing and the collaboration of the nation's army, said the ICRC official.
According to the National De-Mining Commission, deactivating a single device costs an average of 460 dollars.

The human tragedies caused by the mines are now much less frequent, but it took a major effort to raise public awareness, through seminars, distribution of brochures and information campaigns, Arroyo said.

The campaign has reached a million Nicaraguans and involves 650 people, including volunteers and civilian and military officials.

The ICRC itself has 80 volunteers, half of whom are primary schoolteachers, and the rest children and adolescents who conduct talks with their peers about "the hidden danger in the ground."

A program for social reinsertion, an initiative with the participation of Mexico, Canada and the Pan-American Health Organization, will provide assistance to 92 survivors of landmine explosions this year.

The Organization of American States assistance program for de-mining efforts in Central America provides immediate medical attention to victims of landmine accidents.

Worldwide, some 30 million stored landmines were destroyed by the Mar 1 deadline, the date set by the Ottawa Convention on these devices.

* Nohelia González is a Tierramérica contributor.