Multiple condemnations: Stop immediately and continue to cause civilian casualties many years later! The United States insists on providing | using | cluster bombs | Laos | ammunition | Cambodia | cluster bombs | the United States
The US government has recently announced a new batch of military aid to Ukraine, including large lethal cluster ammunition classified as prohibited under US law, which has caused widespread controversy and concern in the international community. The Ukrainian military recently stated that they have received cluster ammunition provided by the United States but have not yet used it.
Cluster ammunition has stronger killing power and a greater likelihood of causing civilian casualties than regular ammunition. The US Air Force has extensively used cluster bombs in wars such as the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and Iraq War, causing indelible pain to the people and future generations of these countries.
Victim complaint: The United States should apologize!
Yan Sangen is a farmer living in the northeastern province of Kratie in Cambodia. 19 years ago, while picking up firewood in the forest, he discovered four unexploded bombs, which instantly took away his arms and eyes.
He told Xinhua News Agency reporters that during the Vietnam War, he and his family lived in fear every day. "Every time a US military airdropped bomb explodes, the earth trembles like an earthquake, the crater is as large as a pond, and the villages hit by the bomb suffer heavy casualties." He demanded that the United States take moral responsibility for the use of cluster ammunition in Cambodia and apologize to the Cambodian victims.
Located in the northeast of Laos, the Chuang Kuang Province is bordered by Vietnam to the east. Banayang, a 4-year-old girl from the Lao Song ethnic group living here, suffered permanent blindness in her right eye due to an unexploded bomb explosion earlier this year. Chuan Kuang Province is one of the regions with the highest incidence of unexploded ordnance accidents in Laos.
This is a fence made of cluster shells by residents of Fengshawan County, Khouang Province, Laos on May 20, 2022. Shen Jizhong
At the doorstep of the home of senior Laotian diplomat Sikun in the capital Vientiane, there are cluster bomb casings standing on each side that are over one person high; In the yard, rows of flower pots are also placed on huge shells. These casings were all brought back from Xieng, with the aim of warning people of the sustained damage caused by American cluster bombs.
"They come from the United States!" Xikun said in an interview with reporters recently, "Until now, the cleaning of residual cluster bombs is still far from complete."
It is reported that all 18 provinces and cities in Laos are contaminated with unexploded bombs. In addition to causing civilian casualties, a large number of unexploded bombs have also led to the inability to cultivate many agricultural land in Laos, seriously restricting agricultural economic activities. Agriculture is an important pillar of Laos' national economy, but output has always been low, and the impact of unexploded ordnance on land use is one of the reasons.
Joseph Matthews, a professor at Cambodia's Beltai International University, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that a large number of ordinary people have become victims of these unexploded ordnance and landmines, resulting in many deaths or disabilities. The United States has a moral responsibility for the suffering of these victims and an obligation from a moral and legal perspective to fully compensate the victims and their families.
Multiple condemnation: Stop immediately!
The decision of the United States to aid Ukraine with cluster ammunition has sparked criticism and strong opposition from multiple political figures, international organizations, and other parties.
At least 38 human rights organizations have publicly opposed the United States providing cluster ammunition to Ukraine. Marta Urtado, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for an "immediate cessation" and "no use of cluster ammunition anywhere".
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen stated on social media that over half a century has passed and Cambodia has yet to find a way to destroy all unexploded ordnance. He called on Ukraine not to use the cluster ammunition provided by the United States, as the use of these ammunition will pose the most serious danger to the bombed areas in the coming years or even 100 years.
On May 5, 2022, experts from the Cambodia Mine Action Center were dealing with a US heavy aerial bomb.
Canada, Britain, Spain, Italy and other NATO member states have also expressed dissent on this matter. Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine was a decision of the United States, not NATO, and that Spain was opposed to supplying Ukraine with certain weapons, including cluster munitions, under any circumstances.
This is December 19, 2001, a group of villagers in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan buried a 22-year-old young man who was killed by a cluster bomb. The young man was killed by a cluster bomb while collecting firewood. Xinhua News Agency
There are also opposing voices within the United States regarding this. American media reported that dozens of Democrats expressed disappointment with President Biden's decision, believing it to be a "terrible mistake" that would result in an "unbearable moral and political cost" for the United States.
According to the Russian news agency Sputnik, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, recently posted a warning on social media that providing cluster ammunition to Ukraine by the United States "will not have a good outcome.". He accused the United States of being extremely hypocritical in condemning the evil of those who use cluster ammunition while sending it to the battlefield.
