CANADA would be willing to assist Cyprus in the removal of landmines, the country’s Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ted McWhinney said yesterday.
McWhinney was speaking after a meeting in Nicosia with Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides.
He said the removal of landmines was one of the issues he and Canadian special representative Michael Bell discussed with the minister.
“There is a lot of expertise in Canada about landmines, and we will be looking forward for action there and if it occurs I think there will be a strong argument for the Canadian government in helping for the removal of landmines here,” McWhinney said.
Two Argentine peacekeepers serving with Unficyp narrowly escaped injury last week when a mine exploded under their vehicle near the Turkish- occupied village of Lefka in the Morphou district in the western part of the island.
There are some 38 minefields and booby-trapped areas in the 180-km long buffer zone which divides the island and a further 73 minefields located within 500 metres of it.
It is estimated there are more an 16,000 landmines buried on the island.
Last year a 37-year old father of three became the latest victim of the island’s 1974 legacy of landmines after following his dog into a minefield in a government-controlled area, near to but not inside the buffer zone.
Cyprus is one of the countries which recently signed the treaty for the global ban on landmines, a move welcomed by the UN which has repeatedly asked for the mines to be removed.
McWhinney said the issue would probably be raised in a scheduled meeting with senior Unficyp officials.
He also said Canada, which gave a contingent to Unficyp for 30 years, would be ready to participate in a future multinational peacekeeping force once a Cyprus settlement was reached.
“I think there will be very strong support in Canada for further involvement,” he said.
McWhinney said he was “encouraged” by what he has seen and heard on his visit to the island.
“Generally I am very impressed with the possibilities here after my visit,” he said. “I am encouraged: there is quite enough pragmatism around; all of us want to see the Cyprus issue settled and a solution that respects the integrity of the island.”
