Resource information
Landmines are weapons that kill and maim indiscriminately, whether it be civilians, soldiers, elderly people, women, children or
animals. They cause injury and death long after the official end of a war. Contrary to trends in the rest of the world, rather than
reduce or abolish the use of landmines, the SPDC has actually increased production of anti-personnel landmines and at least in
the case of the Burma-Bangladesh border, is actively maintaining minefields. In Asia, Burma is currently second only to
Afghanistan in the number of new landmine victims, surpassing even Cambodia. The SPDC has not signed the Mine Ban Treaty
and abstained from the 1999 UN General Assembly vote on the treaty, saying, “A sweeping ban on landmines is unnecessary
and unjustified. The problem is the indiscriminate use of mines, as well as the transfer of them.” Although the SPDC is not
known to export landmines, mines from China, Israel, Italy, Russia and the United States have been found planted inside
Burma, indicating past or present importation of them. By their own admission, accepting transferred (imported) landmines
makes them part of the problem...
