Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 20, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Brian Cole 6977044 focus Winnipeg free press May Ottawa eventually Force global ban lesser t the have a straightforward said Canadian for eign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy last we remove 100 million mines an Arm and a leg at a or can and the representatives of so most of whose governments would never have sent them to Ottawa if they had known Axworthy would go that erupted into a standing ova the Ottawa conference on Banning landmines was a departure from the traditional diplomatic Way of doing Axworthy just invited any country that was interested to show up and when it became in the words of Canadian Diplomat Ralph who chaired the that there was an impatience to get going by an awful lot of Axworthy broke the in his closing speech to the Confer unilaterally and with no Advance he proposed a dead line a global ban on the Transfer or use of antipersonnel mines to be signed at a followup conference in Ottawa this and to go into effect Only two years what a contrast with the opening in Geneva on May 14 of this years first session of the conference on Dinar a venerable a sponsored body that has been talking about Dis armament since the late Lead mine fight things Are still said chinese ambassador Sha but there Are developments on what developments Ameri can representative John director of the arms control and disarmament thought Geneva should Start talking about a global ban Oft but there were Geneva process and some countries Drw still not keen on Banning them s others off eff shift list of the hold outs South Russia and and they Point out apart from Russia and All these countries Are closely associated with the United so will the join the treaty that emerges from the Ottawa meeting in december Holum says the Indi cations Are that me process in Ottawa will treat that is accepted by like minded but does not the hire a number of countries tha care critically important for this testify in plainer language than Holum is allowed to the will not join a ban on antipersonnel mines until Russia and China Why not mainly because treaties have to be ratified by the which is so jealous of prerogatives that it would reject a treaty Banning Spears unless there were strict provisions for disarming the Highland tribes of Papua new so the dance of the dinosaurs goes on in Geneva but the Ottawa process gathers less than two years Only 14 countries favoured a total ban on antipersonnel now 56 countries have announced that they will Stop using and 111 countries came to Vienna in february for an interim meeting paving the Way for the Ottawa con Ference in the momentum is becoming unstoppable and it is a striking demonstration of the Power of world Public for what drives the whole process is that we should still be Selling or using such pointless there Are an estimated 110 million antipersonnel mines in 64 left Over from wars that have been Over for As much As a every year another two million Are Laid and every year around mostly Are killed or maimed by they have virtually no military there has never been a Battle or a Campaign whose outcome was seriously influenced by antipersonnel like they raise the general level of tension and mis Ery in but the casualties they pro Duce Are of practically no military As opposed to human antitank mines Are tanks Are decisive weapons of and mines Are one of the main ways of stopping them which is Why nobody is proposing to ban antitank but even High ranking Amer ican officers like David former chairman of the joint chiefs of and general Norman commander in the Gulf agree that a ban on anti personnel mines would be not Only but also militarily response it is particularly remarkable that the United states government should be so reluctant to ban anti personnel for they Are Pri Marily the weapons of the weaker Side and Many times More american soldiers have been killed by them than saved by what drives american in both the White House and the is mainly the abstract notion that the United states is a great Power and should not move faster than the other great pow ers in any area of so nothing much will happen at and in in a Large majority of the worlds coun tries will sign a treaty Banning anti personnel is As diplomats a naive and largely meaningless exercise indulged in by lesser countries with lesser responsibilities not at it Marks the beginning of the end for antipersonnel for once the treaty is in place the pressure of world Public opinion will really Start to weigh upon those who refuse to the russians May actually Cave in and sign even before the United but it will surely follow in a matter of a few China May be a harder nut to but if All the countries in the world that it Sells mines to have signed the then its recalcitrance is of Little practical this is Good even beyond the value of the actual ban on antipersonnel for it shows the world working in a different the orig Inal initiative came not from govern but from nongovernmental organizations that had to Deal with the mine the treaty was pushed not by the great but by smaller countries that do not share their and in the the great Powers will come along Gwynne Dyer is a Londo based Independent journalist and his column appears address and published be edited Telephone but not Tor Likely t letters i number s97 the must zoo ers some keeping will we clips reductions High Paula in Canadian the result of if and w and perhaps save we could humane thanks every moving to Winnipeg from Vancouver in thought by quite a few of my friends to be quite a strange it was a sunnier Winter than Ive Ever and there was a blizzard in but it showed the resilience of the helping the helpless who were stranded at and now the Are there any cynics left in this City what a wonderful place to thanks to All of the kindnesses by so the the the the the Community and the seniors who have contributed in such a big Way to show that this really is the Best place to live in thanks to those who gave so much time answering the those who showed such organizational skills in coordinating so Many those who gave bedding and the generous schools and warmhearted people who brought food for the hungry Sand the Guy who offered free parking to move vehicles to higher and the Many others who offered services free of charge when they could have taken the thousands of Sand baggers who sweated and toiled to save the Homes of peo ple they had never thanks when to the Guy who turned away without waiting for thanks after throwing me his extra pair of gloves when i needed them Mike Bull Winnipeg responsibility belongs to owner could you please Tell explain Why the individual that chose to move outside the City absolves himself of his responsibility to look after his property and All this responsibility Falls to the gov if i invest in a Stock and the Stock goes Down then i take the the people who Are complaining the loudest Are probably the people who Felt that the City taxes were too expend i noticed Many Large houses being i just get the feeling that in subsidizing people who could afford expensive houses but did it have the foresight to protect them but since they have some political there going to make everyone pay for their Nei Maffenbeier Winnipeg feed inmates to the Lions i must say i agree wholeheartedly with Paul Wiecks column crime does n he it sickens me to think that those miserable criminals Are getting paid an exorbitant for a Days we should be keeping them in jail for their entire forcing them to work 20 hours of hard labour every Day until it kills and then feed their flesh to animals in the ass Boine Park letters to the editor Tooji fax be submitted of but and Telephone Burden of some live Mcharge tax car mingle Al inmates Shis surely not affect it As a the Money we future Genera intelligent and to resent Dierckx Winnipeg the merits of vegetarianism can spark verbal buses already pet free id like to respond to Tom Ole sons opinions in the april 24 editorial pages of the Winnipeg free you Are Correct pet animals do not belong on City transit buses and pit bulls Arent the greatest i honestly concur on this dont worry about the pit Bull on your bus Here in your wonderfully intelligent City fathers have outlawed or Haven you read your City those Nasty Little critters have been Given their walking papers along with other vicious Breeds like yes dont worry about that pit Bull but i would keep an Eye on that Street gang Dave Bader Winnipeg message Clear eat and be eaten poor Tom called on the car pet for being rather then a Grazer with peo Dennis like his vegetarian is rather thin skinned when it comes to eating real Ole sons biology which establishes the marked differences bulldogs and cows was lost on a Newborn so he brought out the big guns like Tolstoy and being Brilliant in their own none of their pursuits called for phys ical they were scribes who would not have lasted More than a few minutes toting sandbags along the Manitoba red whichever Way you slice your veg being a vegetarian does not pro vide adequate in sheer numbers they never through the advanced beyond a tiny fringe like it or we have to live by natures rules eat and be and this is where the Domestic Ani Mals have the Edge Over their wild cousins who have to fight the elements and All kinds of predators to they Are sheltered and enjoy designer and food is where they have it All Over us the critters thoroughly enjoy their daily feedings while we Are conned into viewing every spoonful with looking for dangerous substances until a few years harmed dumb Lucky animals cant read count calories and live without the benefits of Tofu and sea they get fat on Oats Hart Oldenburg Winnipeg As the member Yms Fysz doonesbury that Rork they have asked to Hel the extremely proud Piall rather than take of Leah themselves for a Job Tolj Jeff would rather talk about the Ottier extraordinary peo like the and homeowners on keeping their Homes High wed i am writing a Juis Leif r because i was horrified an4 offended by comments made by Gene Whitney from Agathe on sky to the Day that Agathe went under Wjt he wholly biased Alta Lack of sup port by the Muir Day be leaving them but not drawl fun the military arrived they Whitney that the Sand diff had been built was not put he brushed them off Tell Flig Thein that the town would be he told them to the military did what they leaving 11 men to help out Man Ning the and left As per the request of so rather than Point the Finger at the the or whomever else he wishes to perhaps hot should think about his own in the flood ing of Agai by Garry Trudeau dead v wwa00ut doonesbury by Garry Trudeau Winnipeg who Hausa ;