Japan, as president of this year’s Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, is committed to promoting dialogue and negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia, according to a senior diplomat from the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok.
Tatsushi Nishioka, deputy chief of mission, took part in a field trip by foreign envoys, organised by the Thai Foreign Ministry and the army on August 16, to sites in Si Sa Ket province affected by recent attacks by Cambodia.
The Thai army showed the envoys some of the anti-personnel landmines it had retrieved from areas previously used as strongholds by Cambodian troops, intending to show that Cambodia had violated the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the stockpiling, use and planting of such mines.
Thailand has already submitted evidence of and reports on the violations, so the matter can be tabled when the Ottawa Convention states parties meet in Geneva this December. Japan will chair the meeting this year as president.
On his embassy’s Facebook page, Nishioka wrote that, during the trip, he observed landmine damage, demining operations and received briefings from officials.
He expressed his deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the recent clashes and expressed concern for the injured, including landmine victims and others wounded in the fighting.
He also noted that vehicles and other equipment, provided by the Embassy of Japan in Thailand to demining organisations in recent years, have been put to good use and stated that Japan will continue to provide support.
“I sincerely hope that no further loss of life will result from landmines and that peace and stability will soon be restored to the area through the genuine observance of the ceasefire agreement,” Nishioka said.
