VARIOUS: Belgrade conference hopes cluster bombs will soon be banned

Belgrade is the host of a two-day international conference of States Affected by Cluster Munitions, the aim of which is to ban the use of cluster munitions that every year kill or cripple dozens of civilians in the world. "Cluster munitions are a weapon that no longer has a place in this world," Thomas Nash, the coordinator of the international Cluster Munitions Coalition told a news conference in Belgrade on Tuesday (October 2). "All responsible governments are renouncing this weapon. This meeting here in Belgrade is the latest step in a growing international process to eliminate this weapon forever," he added. Experts participating at the conference said the Balkans was the most affected region in Europe and were depending on Western help in de-mining their territories. The Serbian government led Action Mine Centre said Serbia would need at least 15 years and 20 million euros to clear its territory from cluster bombs dropped by NATO during the 1999 bombing. Bosnia and Croatia, hit with various cluster munitions during the Balkan wars, are also struggling with a lack of funding. Cluster bombs continue to be found in the mountainous, forested border region with Albania that has been infected by cluster bombs dropped by NATO near its border and those fired by the Serb artillery. The breakaway province of Kosovo is regarded as one of the areas most severely hit with cluster bombs in the world. The "Princess of Wales Memorial Fund" is also taking part in the Belgrade conference. In support of the campaign, they showed the Fund's latest film called "From Laos to Lebanon". The documentary shows interviews with people who were injured by cluster bombs during and after wars in Laos and Lebanon. "She was very concerned about the effects of weapons on civilians after, for many many years after wars, and that is exactly the same situation now with cluster munitions. We are trying to prevent a humanitarian disaster by supporting local people to have their voices heard," the representative for the memorial fund, Samantha Reni said about the work of Diana, Princess of Wales. NATO in 1999 bombed Serbia for 78 days to stop the brutal crackdown of Serbian forces on Albanian separatists in Kosovo. During the NATO bombing, around 350,000 cluster bombs were dropped on a relatively small area of 23 square kilometres in southern Serbia, near the Kosovo border. Branislav Kapetanovic is a former Yugoslav army expert on explosives and he lost his forearms and legs while trying to disarm a U.S. made cluster bomb after NATO bombing of Serbia. He described the bomb as "the most sneaky munition ever made." "But, I am an optimist. These conferences are getting bigger and bigger. I believe that the cluster munitions will be banned and the victims of it will be helped," Kapetanovic said. The meeting in Belgrade is part of the so-called Oslo Process, which was launched in February this year and aims to conclude a treaty in 2008. The discussions will focus on the clearance of the cluster bombs, victims' assistance and international cooperation.

ITN Source | October 4, 2007

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