US bishops regret Bush U-turn on landmines

The American Bishops have expressed their concern at the Bush administration's decision to allow the continued use of certain types of landmines, turning back from their earlier commitment to join more than 150 other nations in banning the weapons. The full text of the statement follows: Statement On New US Policy On Landmines "The new US policy on landmines represents a missed opportunity for the United States. While the new policy expands the leadership role of the United States in aiding the victims of landmines, it undermines the efforts of the past decade to rid the world of these indiscriminate weapons. "The administration has reiterated previous commitments to end the use of landmines that do not self-destruct. Regrettably, US policy now envisions the indefinite use of self-destructing landmines, and thereby steps back from an earlier pledge to join the more than 150 nations who have already signed the Mine Ban Treaty, if alternatives to anti-personnel landmines could be found. "With Pope John Paul II and Catholic Bishops from around the world, the bishops in this country have long called for a ban on these indiscriminate and deadly weapons and have urged the US government to sign the Mine Ban Treaty. Much progress has been made in the past decade toward acting on the moral imperative of ending the use of landmines. The continued reliance of the world's largest military on these insidious weapons will only delay the day when the world will be freed from this scourge." March 1, 2004 Bishop John J. Ricard, SSJ, of Pensacola-Tallahassee