(번역) 태국, 캄보디아와의 교전 당시 집속탄 사용 인정

[울트라-노마드]

(자료사진) 캄보디아 정부의 지뢰제거 기관인 '캄보디아 지뢰행동센터'(CMAC)가 공개한 태국의 집속탄 사용 증거들.

(보도) BBC 2011-4-6  (번역) 크메르의 세계

태국, 캄보디아와의 교전 당시 집속탄 사용 인정

Thailand 'admits cluster bombs used against Cambodia'

기사작성 : Guy De Launey

집속탄에 반대하는 운동가들이, 태국이 지난 2월 교전에서 캄보디아에 대한 집속탄 사용을 인정했다고 밝혔다. '집속탄반대연합'(Cluster Munition Coalition: CMC)은 태국의 집속탄 사용결정을 '소름끼치고'(appalling) '비양심적인'(unconscionable) 것이라고 비난했다.

2008년 12월 오슬로에서 체결된 국제협약을 통해 집속탄의 사용은 국제적으로 금지됐지만, 태국과 캄보디아 모두 협정에 서명하길 거부하고 있다.

태국의 집속탄 사용 인정은 태국의 입장에 상당한 변화를 주게 될 것으로 보인다.

캄보디아는 지난 2월 초 4일 동안의 교전사태가 발생한 직후, 태국이 자국을 향해 집속탄을 사용했다며 비난한 바 있다. 하지만 태국은 만일 집속탄이 사용됐다면 그것은 캄보디아가 했을 것이라며 이 같은 주장을 부인했다.

하지만 여러 인도주의 단체들이 '쁘레아위히어 사원'(Preah Vihear temple) 주변의 국경지역을 방문하여 불발된 집속탄의 발견을 보고했다. 이러한 증거들은 태국의 입장을 변화시킬 것으로 보인다.

'집속탄반대연합'은 태국이 집속탄 사용을 확인했다고 밝혔다. 다만 캄보디아가 민간인 거주지역으로 중화기들을 발사하는 데 대해 자위권 차원에서 대응한 것이라 말했다고 한다. 하지만 '집속탄반대연합'은 집속탄이 전세계 100국 이상에서 금지되고 있으므로, 태국 측의 집속탄 사용은 정당화될 수 없다고 말했다.

'집속탄반대연합'에 따르면, 현재 수천 명의 주민들이 집 주변에 불발된 집속탄이 떨어져 있어서 사망이나 중상의 위험을 안게 되었다고 한다. 집속탄은 외관이 밝은 색상으로 되어 있어서 어린이들을 유혹하기 쉽운데, 어린이들이 그것을 만지는 순간 심각한 부상을 입을 수 있기 때문에 특히 악명높은 무기이기도 하다.

* 집속탄이란 무엇인가

집속탄(集束彈)은 한개의 폭탄속에 또다른 폭탄이 들어가 있는 폭탄을 말하며, 넓은 지형에서 다수의 인명 살상을 목적으로 하는 대표적 비인도적 무기다. 이러한 성질때문에 모자(母子)폭탄이라고도 한다. 항공기 등에서 투하된 대형 모자폭탄이 목표지점에 다가가면, 모폭탄이 시한장치에 의해 목표지점 위의 공중에서 터지고, 그 안에서 수백개의 소형 자폭탄들이 쏟아져나와 폭발, 반경 25m 안에 있는 사람들에 치명상을 입힌다. 소형 폭탄의 40%는 불발탄으로 남았다가 대인지뢰처럼 터져 민간인에 큰 피해를 준다. (위키백과 한국어판 중에서)

한국도 아시아에서는 중국과 더불어 집속탄을 수입 및 수출하는 국가에 속한다. 한국에는 미국으로부터 모든 종류의 집속탄이 수입되고 있는 것으로 알려져 있다. '휴먼라이츠워치'(HRW)가 2010년 11월에 발표한 보고서에 따르면, 미국, 중국, 러시아, 이스라엘, 한국 등이 집속탄을 대량으로 생산 혹은 보유하면서 국제협약에의 서명도 거부하고 있는 국가들이다.

     * 이하는 '집속탄반대연합'(CMC)가 공개한 내용들이다.

(사진) 2011년 4월, 캄보디아 영내의 개활지에서 '캄보디아 지뢰행동센터'(CMAC) 직원들이 집산탄을 발견해 확인하고 있다.

 [촬영: Stéphane De Greef / Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor]

CMC condemns Thai use of cluster munitions in Cambodia

Thailand and Cambodia should join global treaty banning cluster munitions

(Geneva, 6 April 2011) - Based on two separate on-site investigations, the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) has concluded that Thailand used cluster munitions on Cambodian territory during the February 2011 border conflict. Thai officials confirmed the use of cluster munitions in a meeting with the CMC on 5 April.

This is the first use of cluster munitions anywhere in the world since the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force and became binding international law. The CMC condemns any use of cluster munitions, and urges Thailand and Cambodia to immediately commit to no future use and to accede to the global treaty banning the weapons.

“It’s appalling that any country would resort to using cluster munitions after the international community banned them,” said Laura Cheeseman, director of the CMC. “Thailand has been a leader in the global ban on antipersonnel mines, and it is unconscionable that it used banned weapons that indiscriminately kill and injure civilians in a similar manner.”

In a meeting on 5 April, the Thai Ambassador to the UN in Geneva confirmed Thai use of 155mm Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) cluster munitions. The Ambassador said Thailand used cluster munitions “in self-defence”, using the principles of “necessity, proportionality and in compliance with the military code of conduct”. He alleged heavy use of rocket fire by Cambodian forces against civilian targets in Satisuk, in the Khun Khan district of Thailand.

In February and April of this year, CMC members conducted two separate missions to cluster munition contaminated areas in Cambodia including in Svay Chrum Village, Sen Chey Village and around the Preah Vihear temple hill, and witnessed unexploded submunitions and fragmentation damage caused by cluster munitions. Norwegian People’s Aid confirmed that unexploded M42/M46 and M85 type DPICM submunitions have been found.

Atle Karlsen of Norwegian People’s Aid said, “There are around 5,000 people living in Sen Chey village that are at risk from these unexploded weapons. Thailand must supply information to help clear affected areas and make them safe for civilians to return home.”

Sister Denise Coghlan, a CMC leader who took part in the first research mission said, “These cluster munitions have already robbed two men of their lives, two more have lost their arms and a further five were injured. The area must be cleared immediately to prevent more suffering. Cambodia must make every effort to ensure the safety of civilians.”

The CMC has urged Thailand to provide detailed information on the results of its inquiry, including the location of all cluster munition strikes, so that civilians can be adequately warned of the dangers and to assist the effective and efficient clearance of submunition remnants, which pose dangers like landmines. The CMC is also calling on Cambodia to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and as interim steps commit to no use, make known the types and quantity of cluster munitions in its stockpile and start destruction.

Cambodia and Thailand are not among the 108 countries that have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions but each has joined the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.  Both countries participated in the “Oslo Process” to negotiate the Convention on Cluster Munitions and attended its First Meeting of States Parties in neighbouring Lao PDR in November 2010.

“This conflict should spur both countries to take urgent action to denounce the weapons and join the ban treaty,” said Cheeseman.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force as binding international law on 1 August 2010, banning the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions, while requiring states to destroy stockpiles, clear contaminated land and assist victims and affected communities. Of the 108 countries that have signed the Convention since it opened for signature in December 2008, 55 countries have already ratified.

Contacts:

Sister Denise Coghlan

Cambodian Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munitions, Cambodia, +855-124-88950

Laura Cheeseman

Cluster Munition Coalition, UK, +44-7515-575-175

Photos of contamination in Cambodia

© Stéphane de Greef, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clustermunitioncoalition/sets/72157626310392061/with/5592080603/

+++

Detailed background

From 4-7 February 2011, Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged fire over disputed territory along the border near Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site. On 10 February, the state-sponsored Cambodia Mine Action Centre (CMAC) reported (http://www.cmac.gov.kh/tblnews.php?id=68) it had evidence that Thai forces had fired cluster munitions into parts of Preah Vihear province.

CMC members undertook a research mission to the Cambodian side of the border on 12 February, where they witnessed and photographed submunitions that had failed to explode in two areas - the military and police base in Svay Chrum village and the Preah Vihear temple hill. In Svay Chrum, CMC members photographed unexploded cluster submunitions lying out in the open and numerous cluster munition remnants, as well as structures and a vehicle with physical damage consistent with that caused by cluster submunition explosions.

A cluster submunition allegedly exploded when a Cambodian policeman picked it up after the initial strike at the base, killing two policemen and injuring seven others. The research team interviewed two of the victims at Preah Vihear referral hospital in Tbeng Meanchey, who sustained fragmentation wounds to the arms, torso and head as well as interviewing two other victims in Siem Reap Provincial hospital who had each lost an arm in the explosion. When asked if they could identify the device that caused their injuries, each independently pointed to a picture of an M46 cluster submunition.

On a separate assessment mission carried out from 1-2 April 2011 by CMC member Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), 5 cluster munition contaminated areas were visited: Sen Chey village, Preah Vihear temple hill, a new village development area in Northwest Sraaem, an open agricultural field behind a military camp, and a police camp in Svay Chrum village. NPA identified M42/M46 and/or M85 type submunitions in all of these areas. An additional 7 areas have been identified by the Cambodia Mine Action Centre (CMAC) as being contaminated by cluster munitions as a result of strikes but it has not been possible for NPA to access these areas. The 12 cluster munition strike areas are within a 300km2 area according to CMAC.

CMC members photographed unexploded submunitions in the contaminated areas. http://www.flickr.com/photos/clustermunitioncoalition/sets/72157626310392061/with/5592080603/

CMC analysis of the photographs indicates that the submunitions are M46-types, contained in NR-269 155mm artillery projectiles. Each projectile contains 56 submunitions, which are a copy of the United States M46 submunition. Upon subsequent inquiries by CMC members, Thailand acknowledged possessing the NR-269 projectiles with M46-type submunitions. Unexploded M85 type submunitions with a self-destruct mechanism have also been found in an agricultural field next to the military camp.

Both countries possess stockpiles of cluster munitions, but little is known about their status or composition. The Cambodian government has in the past cited an ongoing review of its defence and security situation as the reason for a delay in joining the treaty. Thailand has cited concerns over its ability to destroy its stockpile as a roadblock to joining the Convention, as well as security concerns. Thailand announced in 2008 that it had no intention of using the weapons in the future.

Cambodia and Thailand are States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and Cambodia will host that treaty’s 11th Meeting of States Parties in November 2011.

South-East Asia is more heavily contaminated by cluster munitions than any other region after the United States dropped large numbers of cluster bombs on Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s.

For more information on cluster munition policy and practice, please see the following Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 country reports:

• Cambodia
• Thailand

 * 상위화면 바로가기 : "[속보 홈페이지] 2011년 캄보디아-태국 국경충돌 기사목록"

[보아즈]

저런 ... 대단한 무기네요 ... 민간인 피해가 없길 바랍니다.

크세의 귀염둥이 보아즈 올림

[허의철학]

미국에 유리한 국제협력에 반대하는 나라가 있으면 모가지를 비틀어서도 가입을 유도하면서
조금이라도 손해다 싶은면 생까는 이상한 기질이 있지요.

태국이 교전 당시는 오리발 작전으로 일관하더니, 명확한 증거물이 나오니 어쩔수 없는 상황논리로
나오는 뻔뻔함으로 대응하네요.

[울트라-노마드]

태국 정부의 빠니딴 와따나야꼰(Panitan Wattanayagorn) 대변인이 어젯밤에 좀 변명을 했네요..

"집속탄[집속무기]"(Cluster Munition)를 사용한 것이 아니라
"이중 목적을 가진 개량된 재래식무기"(dual-purpose improved conventional munitions)을 사용했다고 말이죠,,,
하여간 영미 유학파들이라 용어 하나는 기막히게들 갖다가 붙이는군요...

방콕포스트 언론인 한명은 기고란에다 쓰기를
<태국군이 고성능 포탄을 사용하려다가, 쁘레아위히어 사원을 보호하기 위해
어쩔 수 없이 사원에 숨어 있는 캄보디아 군 병력들의 살상용으로 집속탄을 사용했다>.. 고 하는 식으로
또 논조를 펼치는데, 하여간 당분간 말이 많을듯 하네요.