Cluster Bomb speakers tour to visit Twin Cities campuses

The Cluster Bomb Speakers Tour sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) will visit the Twin Cities for four events on October 29 through 31.  On Monday, October 29 the speakers will present at the William Mitchell College of Law Auditorium at 7 p.m.; on Tuesday, October 30 at The University of St. Thomas O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Room 108 at 4 p.m., and at Luther Seminary, Northwestern Hall Auditorium at 7 p.m.; and on Wednesday, October 31 at The University of St. Thomas School of Law room 235 at 12:30 p.m.  The Mennonite Central Committee, centered in Akron, Pennsylvania, is the relief, development and peace building agency of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in the U.S. and Canada

One of the individuals central to bringing the group to Minnesota is School of Law Associate Professor Virgil Wiebe who has advised the MCC. Professor Wiebe was in Lebanon in April 2007 to observe the work of mine clearance teams in that region.

This tour will bring representatives from Laos and Lebanon who have personally experienced the tragic effects of cluster bomb use in their countries. Laos and Lebanon represent the very first and the most recent widespread use of cluster bombs in warfare. MCC has long-standing programs in both of these countries.

Between 1964 and 1973 the U.S. Air Force dropped 260 million cluster bomblets on Laos, killing and injuring thousands of Lao villagers both during and after the war’s end. In the 33-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, Israel dropped an estimated 4 million cluster bomblets on southern Lebanon. Roughly 1 million of these bomblets failed to explode on impact, and pose a continuing threat to villagers there. Hezbollah is also reported to have fired a smaller number of cluster munitions on unguided rockets into Northern Israel, making them one of the only non-state actors to use the weapon in combat.  Cluster bombs have been used in more than 20 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 90% of known cluster bomb casualties are civilians.

The participants from Lebanon are Bassam Chamoun and Raed Mokaled. Mr. Chamoun has served as MCC Lebanon’s Program Coordinator since 1985. Born in El Khiam, a border village in South Lebanon, he has witnessed much of the violence inflicted on the people of South Lebanon. Mr. Mokaled works as an optician in the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon. His 5-year-old son Ahmad was killed when he innocently picked up a cluster bomb in a public park in 1999. Since Ahmad’s death, Raed has worked extensively to preserve his son’s memory through various education and advocacy efforts.

Ms. Phounsy Phasaveang from Laos will also participate in the tour. Ms. Phasaveang works for CARE Laos, and has helped with demining operations in her home province of Sekong in southern Laos. She has lived her entire life among unexploded bomblets which litter the Lao countryside. As a young child, she lost her nephew, a close playmate to a cluster bomb. Ms. Lasee Phetsavong from Laos works for World Education in Laos where she organizes immediate and long-term care for victims of cluster bomb accidents.

Current legislation in the U.S. (S.594, HR 1755) would greatly restrict the use, sale, and transfer of cluster weapons by the U.S. In addition, upcoming international meetings in Vienna will bring together some 80 countries committed to negotiating a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs by the end of 2008. The U.S. is not a participant in these negotiations. The speaker’s tour is a public education effort to encourage broader public awareness and action to end the production, sale, and use of cluster bombs.

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