There exists something in our midst that threatens us, yet we are unaware of the danger. There are some 2 million anti-personnel landmines in an area eleven times the size of Seoul's Yeouido neighborhood. The US military alone has some 550,000 mines stockpiled here in our country. Most landmines are near the DMZ, but they are also installed at 39 military facilities in rear-deployed positions. In addition, no one knows how many mines there are in North Korea.
While as an issue they have not received much attention in our society, landmines are one of the most inhumane of weapons. Each year between 15,000 to 20,000 people are killed or injured by them around the world. Most of the victims are civilians and a particularly large number are children, and that is why there is a growing international campaign to ban them. The campaign began on a small scale in 1991 but became widely known in 1997 when the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines (ICBL) won the Nobel Peace Prize. In December of the same year 120 countries signed the Ottawa Convention banning the use and production of landmines, bringing the campaign to fruition. 150 countries have ratified the convention since then, and last year the United Nations established the "world anti-landmine day." It was observed the day before yesterday for the first time.
The Korean peninsula is very out of step with the situation. Along with the United States, Russia, and China, North and South Korea have also not signed the treaty and you don't hear many voices calling for them to do so. We have long invoked the uniqueness of the ongoing confrontation between North and South and ignored the international trend in the process. Now the situation has changed, to the point where there is travel over the DMZ to Mount Geumgang and Gaeseong and back. It will of course be hard to do away with landmines on the peninsula right away. However, changing our thinking will by itself be a first step in eliminating them.
The Hankyoreh, 6 April 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] We, Too, Should Campaign Against Landmines |
