Maris seeks Japan’s support to try Cambodia for Ottawa Convention violations
Maris urges Japan and ASEAN to act against Cambodia for repeated Ottawa Convention landmine violations.
Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa has sought Japan’s backing to use the Ottawa Convention’s mechanism to prosecute Cambodia for repeatedly deploying landmines against Thai troops.
Japan to chair Ottawa Convention in December
Maris said he had spoken with Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi, who will chair the Ottawa Convention in December, to request his support in taking action against Cambodia for breaching the treaty.
The Ottawa Convention, formally known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, aims to eliminate anti-personnel landmines worldwide. Also called the Mine Ban Treaty, it prohibits the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, and transfer of such mines. The ban applies to devices designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person, which often cause severe civilian harm long after conflicts have ended. The treaty does not cover anti-vehicle mines.
Cambodia accused of repeated violations
Maris said he expressed concern to Iwaya that Cambodia had repeatedly breached the treaty by using anti-personnel landmines to injure Thai troops.
“I asked the Japanese foreign minister to help push for the use of the Ottawa mechanism against Cambodia,” Maris said.
He cited the latest violation on Tuesday morning, when a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine allegedly planted by Cambodian troops in Surin province. The blast severed his left ankle and injured three or four other soldiers.
The Foreign Ministry has lodged a formal protest against Cambodia over the incident, which Maris said also violated truce conditions agreed during the latest General Border Committee meeting in Malaysia.
UN and ASEAN involvement sought
Maris said the ministry had sent a letter to the United Nations secretary-general outlining Cambodia’s breach of the Ottawa Convention and international law. Another letter was sent to Japanese officials in preparation for Japan’s chairmanship of the treaty.
While acknowledging that the treaty’s enforcement mechanisms would take time, Maris pledged that Thailand would push for action against Cambodia.
He added that he had also spoken with Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Haji Hasan and Singapore Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on Tuesday, urging them to press Cambodia through ASEAN to cooperate with Thailand in clearing landmines from border areas.
“We do not want just to condemn Cambodia; we also want to see Phnom Penh’s sincerity in resolving this issue with us under the framework of regional and international cooperation,” Maris said.
