Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) has dispatched its task forces to Colombia to help Colombian government clear minefields after 50 years of civil war.
Mr. Heng Ratana, CMAC's Director General, wrote on his Facebook page on Friday stating that a number of experts from his center were sent to Colombia to train officers from the Colombian Unit EOD on how to clear landmine and unexploded ordnance left from Colombian civil war.
According to Mr. Ratana, in response to the request made by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, CMAC has dispatched its task forces to Colombia in order to help to train Colombian mine clearance officers to be able to set up and manage their own mine action center based on Cambodian experiences.
The training course is going to take four years, from 2017 to 2020, and is funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Mr. Ratana also said that at the end of 2017 and 2018, with the support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, CMAC would also send about 30 officers each year to Colombia for the same training.
In addition, CMAC is going to send its experts for short period training of three to six months. They would conduct training for international and national NGOs working to clear minefields in a number of Colombian provinces.
As a result, Mr. Ratana said that he was very proud that Cambodia could send its experts in minefield clearance abroad. This fact proves that Cambodia's landmine clearance expertise is at a very high level recognized by other countries around the globe.
According to Mr. Ratana, Colombia as well as Cambodia is a country situated in tropical zone. The population in Colombia is around 49 million. But, its land area is ten times bigger than which of Cambodia. However, civil war in Colombia took more than 50 years, during which more than 220,000 Colombians were killed, and more than five million Colombians were displaced.
Nevertheless, a peace agreement was signed by President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the rebels in June 2016. Following this fact, President Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize a few months later.
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