President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that he was willing to sign an international declaration against land mines and warfare on behalf of Taiwan, saying that the declaration reflected universal values that the nation's government already follows.
The declaration in question is the UN Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, known in short as the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.
"We are more than willing to sign the declaration to show our opposition to the use of land mines and military force and to signify our support for love and peace," the president said.
Chen expressed his positive support for the anti-land mine movement while meeting with visiting Cambodian mine victim, Tun Channareth, who also is the goodwill ambassador of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Land mines (ICBL).
A close aide to the president said that Chen would ask the Cabinet to follow the spirit of the declaration when making policy, but will not demand that officials draw up a timetable by which Taiwan will begin to comply with the treaty.
Chen lauded Channareth for his long devotion to the global campaign against land mines and warfare.
"Opposition to land mines, opposition to war, love and peace; [all these things] are just like freedom, democracy and human rights. They are all universal values," Chen said, adding that Taiwan fully supports the activities of the ICBL.
The ICBL, founded in 1990, is now a coalition of more than 1,000 non-governmental organizations in over 60 countries. The campaign and its director Jody Williams, as well as Channareth, were co-winners of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
"I admire the ICBL's anti-landmine campaign. Its activities are significant. It will never go it alone. The Taiwan government will not hesitate to support its cause," Chen told his guest.
For his part, Channareth said during his visit to Taiwan's frontline island of Kinmen a few days ago that he was impressed by Taiwan's efforts to hire foreign engineers to assist in clearing land mines from the offshore island.
"I think that your country can ask the United Nations to send its experts to help clean up Kinmen," Channareth said, adding that he hopes Kinmen can soon become an area free of land mines.
Channareth admitted that promoting the drive against land mines is no easy task. "But I'll never be daunted by any difficulty and will continue carrying out the campaign," he said, adding that more than 140 countries around the world have signed the ICBL-initiated declaration against land mines. "I look forward to seeing all countries around the world endorse the declaration and restrict the use of land mines," he said.
RSS