Washington -- Unless there is internal stability in landmine-afflicted countries, it will be very difficult to undertake humanitarian demining, according to experts on the subject who addressed an African audience via the Voice of America's Worldnet television service.

Ken Rutherford, co-founder of Landmine Survivors Network, told listeners May 28, "It would be crazy to start a demining program if there is violence and instability still occurring (as in Somalia, where he was injured in a landmine explosion). In terms of other countries -- Angola, Mozambique -- I think it is solvable."

Priscilla Clapp, the U.S. State Department's deputy special representative for global humanitarian demining, agreed that "There has to be a will at the local level to solve the problem," adding "In some parts of Africa that will doesn't exist yet. Somalia and Sudan are very difficult to work with; Angola still has its problems, but we do believe that Angola is moving in the right direction."

U.S. State Department foreign affairs analyst Steven Costner stressed that the U.S. search for alternatives to landmines "is not solely for pure APL (anti-personnel landmines) but it covers the anti-tank systems as well."

"The government is serious about it; our goal is to find an alternative by the year 2006. And if we do, we can then sign the (Ottawa) treaty" banning landmine use, Costner said.

The three made their comments on a live call-in program beamed to Ghana, Benin and Uganda -- part of VOA's "African Journal" series.

Costner pointed out that "Even if any landmines are produced in the United States, they will only be used by the U.S. military in strict ways that will not cause the humanitarian problem."

Clapp added: "We're not producing the (anti-personnel) landmines we're talking about. We...are in the process of destroying the stockpile of over three million by the end of this year."

Rutherford, who lost both legs to a mine, addressed the many problems faced by fellow victims, including getting prostheses and treatment. He said "The United States has a fund called the Senator Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund. He's the one public official who started the campaign in the United States to get landmines on the agenda. That fund helps victims of war, including landmine victims. There are several prosthetic clinics in Africa, in Asia, and I believe for this year the budget has just been increased to put more monies into projects to help landmine victims."

When an African viewer asked about demining prospects, Rutherford said: "The only way to really stop the production of landmines, I believe, is through the stigmatization (of manufacturers and exporters) and through this (Ottawa) treaty."

Asked whether the U.S. can do more to discourage other nations from using mines, Costner said it would be seen as "hypocrisy" to do so when the United States is using them in Korea. He added: "What we continue to do strongly is to push (countries) hard to use them in accordance with certain guidelines -- not use them indiscriminately. For example, to not use long-life mines outside monitored fields where they will be a problem for decades.

"They should not use mines that are not detectable -- plastic mines. We have converted all our mines which were non-detectable so that they are detectable. This is an example of what we can push with Egypt and other countries."

Asked by a viewer in Ghana why satellites are not used to detect landmines, Clapp said satellites cannot "see on the ground at the level of detail one needs to find mines. You need a combination of many different types of technologies."

The most effective means of detection currently is by using dogs, she said. "Dogs have an uncanny ability to smell the contents of a mine and tell you where they are. There's a branch of the Defense Department that's trying to replicate a dog's smelling capability in technology but they haven't been able to do it nearly as well as dogs can," she added.

Clapp also said the United States is "doing a lot of work in Africa training local people in landmine removal and other mine action activities such as victim assistance. It is essential in any mine-affected country that we develop indigenous capacity so that people in the country have the capability to get the mines out of the ground. That is the main emphasis of our demining programs. We are training people in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and all the African countries where we're working."

The program will be rebroadcast in Portuguese to Angola and Mozambique in the near future.