Civil society, truce body to clear bombs

From the Business World (Nov 13): Civil society, truce body to clear bombs

Foreign-backed civil society groups and the joint ceasefire committee of the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will lead a wide-scale operation to clear conflict areas of land mines, Moro rebels said. The operation, which will start soon, is part of an agreement between the government and the MILF in 2010 that accepted a proposal of the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL) and Foundation Suisse De Deminage (FSD). The MILF has identified the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Basilan as critical areas where land mines have yet to be retrieved and defused or detonated. In a statement, the MILF said it has received a letter from the two nongovernmental organizations that offered assistance on land mine clearing after receiving financial support from the European Union for the purpose. "PCBL and FSD informed both panels that the European Union has given financial support towards the implementation of the Joint Landmines/Unexploded Ordnance Clearance Project, which is in accordance with the ‘Guidelines for the Implementation of the PCBL-FSD Project’ signed in May 2010 in Kuala Lumpur by both panels," the MILF said. Previous reports have noted of civilians who died after they accidently stepped on land mines. The MILF said the undiscovered explosive devices in the communities remain a threat to internally displaced persons....

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Civil-society,-truce-body-to-clear-bombs&id=61377