MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
British de-mining experts team to visit Falklands
A de-mining reconnaissance team will visit the Falkland Islands from March 2 until March 6.
Judith Gough, Security Policy Directorate at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office will be accompanied by Lt Col Scott Malina-Derben of the British Ministry of Defense, Alastair McAslan and Paddy Blagden of Cranfield University The team will undertake a number of familiarization elements in their program including meetings with Legislative Councilors and the Governor and a visit to Lookout Lodge. The group will end the week with a press briefing at Government House. There are over one hundred mine fields in the Falklands, all the result of placement (often remotely delivered) by Argentine forces during Argentine occupation of the islands in 1982. The majority of the mines are hidden beneath sandy beaches and peaty soils which can shift a mine's position and make detection and removal very difficult. Minefields, which are well marked, and contain anti-tank and anti-personnel mines can be found around Stanley and Goose Green on the East and Fox Bay and Port Howard on West Falklands. In 1983, heavy casualties on de-mining units stopped the first attempts to clear the Falkland Islands of mines. Since then, Britain has signed and ratified the 1997 Ottawa Convention (Mine Ban Treaty) which makes them responsible (the Falklands is a British Overseas Territory) for clearing the mines. In all, 4,220 mines and 2,713,658 pieces of unexploded ordinance have been removed from the Islands and members of the British Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal are permanently present in the Falklands. Islanders are philosophical about mine clearance, it being neither an economic or serious social issue. Councilor Mike Summers of the Islands Legislative Council recently commented, "If the money they were thinking of spending here could be better spent in one of those areas where children are still getting their legs blown off? we would be more than happy with that." By Lisa Johnson - SeAledPR - Stanley
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