18 November 2000
Clinton Praised Demining Efforts in Vietnamese Countryside
President Clinton praised the efforts of the Vietnamese people, U.S.
veterans and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have been
working to remove land mines from throughout the country, according to
a White House statement.
"The problem of land mines is a global tragedy, and 90 percent of the
victims of war are civilians, mostly because of land mines," Clinton
said November 18 in Hanoi, Vietnam. "In all probability, land mines
kill more children than soldiers, and they keep killing long after
wars are over."
Clinton also said that the United States will also be working with
Vietnam to develop a computer system and a database to help pinpoint
the location of mines and ordnance used during the war.
Following is a transcript of Clinton's remarks:
Remarks by the President at Demining Event
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
(Hanoi, Vietnam)
November 18, 2000
International Trade Center Hanoi, Vietnam
6:50 p.m. (L)
The President: Ambassador Peterson, Ambassador Le Bang, Mr. Khoan; my
good friend, Representative Snyder and the other members of Congress
and our American delegation. I want to say most of all how much I
appreciate the work that all of you who are engaged in demining are
doing.
I thank the Vietnamese people who are doing this, the members of the
NGOs [non-governmental organizations]. And I'd also like to especially
thank the American veterans who have been involved in this endeavor.
The problem of land mines is a global tragedy, and 90 percent of the
victims of war are civilians, mostly because of land mines. In all
probability, land mines kill more children than soldiers, and they
keep killing long after wars are over. This is the tragedy of war for
which peace provides no answer.
Vietnam has about 3.5 million mines in its soil and about 300,000 tons
of unexploded ordnance. Each year, some 2,000 Vietnamese are killed or
injured as they go about their daily lives. This year, at Vietnam's
request, we began providing assistance to the humanitarian demining
efforts. Since June, we provided over $3 million to purchase equipment
and help survey the countryside.
I am happy to announce that we will also be working with Vietnam to
develop a computer system and a database to help pinpoint the location
of mines and ordnance used here during the war. We have also worked
for some years with NGOs such as the Vietnam Veterans of America
Foundation to fund rehabilitation services for victims of land mines,
an effort that owes so much to the leadership of Senator Pat Leahy.
Today, our Defense Department is donating more than $700,000 in
hospital supplies to Quang Tri Province for the same purpose.
Finally, we support efforts by organizations such as Peace Trees and
Catholic Relief Services to educate local communities on how to avoid
land mines. The children's paintings we saw over here are part of that
effort, and again I'd like to thank those four beautiful young boys
for being here and for having the courage to help all the rest of us
deal with this problem. (Applause.)
Since I became President, the United States has spent about $350
million around the world to pull the hidden killers out of the earth,
the land mines, to deal with the unexploded ordnance. We usually spend
slightly more than half of all the money spent in the world on this
every year. But I think we should do more. I am thankful for all the
work the organizations are doing here. I am grateful for the request
that the government of Vietnam gave, that gave us the opportunity to
be involved here. But I hope we will all remember these children who
had the courage to come here and share their art work and who want to
give the rest of the children of Vietnam and the world a better
future.
There are millions of these bombs in the ground in Africa, millions
more in the Balkans. They are the curse of innocent children all over
the world. I hope that tomorrow all over the world, people will see
these children and their drawings and it will enable us to get even
more support for the work you were doing in Vietnam and the work that
must be done like this in other countries. You will have America's
support until you have found every land mine and every piece of
unexploded ordnance. (Applause.)
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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