06-11-2007
By Leang Delux
Cambodge Soir
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
The prime minister wishes to see Cambodian deminers fulfilling a greater number of missions in the world, but he also raised the foreign language barrier these deminers are now facing with.
In a speech for the opening of the National Congress for the updating of the demining strategy in Cambodia, on Tuesday 06 November, Prime minister Hun Sen indicated that he was thinking of sending Cambodian deminers, under the UN mandate, to other countries beyond Sudan where they are already present. “But we have a problem. It’s the foreign languages handicap. The deminers do not speak English or French,” Hun Sen noted. To him, “Cambodia is a poor country, but it has a heart.” Proud of his country, Hun Sen affirmed that “Cambodia, under the UN banner, can participate in missions and offer its services, in particular, in the demining sector, in construction, and in health.” A group of 139 Cambodian deminers is currently operating in Sudan, taking over from a first group of 135 people, a few months back. The first group cleaned up 44-hectare of minefields during a one-year mission, it also destroyed 2,000 anti-personal landmines and 200 anti-tank landmines.
In a speech for the opening of the National Congress for the updating of the demining strategy in Cambodia, on Tuesday 06 November, Prime minister Hun Sen indicated that he was thinking of sending Cambodian deminers, under the UN mandate, to other countries beyond Sudan where they are already present. “But we have a problem. It’s the foreign languages handicap. The deminers do not speak English or French,” Hun Sen noted. To him, “Cambodia is a poor country, but it has a heart.” Proud of his country, Hun Sen affirmed that “Cambodia, under the UN banner, can participate in missions and offer its services, in particular, in the demining sector, in construction, and in health.” A group of 139 Cambodian deminers is currently operating in Sudan, taking over from a first group of 135 people, a few months back. The first group cleaned up 44-hectare of minefields during a one-year mission, it also destroyed 2,000 anti-personal landmines and 200 anti-tank landmines.
