Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) experts will continue to search for nine AN-M66 bombs and conduct a thorough study before defusing recently found bombs in the Chaktomuk River across from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh on May 5. CMAC director-general Heng Ratana said 11 AN-M66 or AN-M34 bombs may have been dropped in the Cambodian territory during the war between 1970 and 1975. “Not all of the bombs exploded. I make it clear that during the war, we know that 11 bombs were dropped, but not just in the place,” he said on May 9. Although Ratana did not reveal where the bombs were dropped in Cambodia, he said the AN-M66 bomb found in the Chaktomuk River was the second of 11 bombs. The bomb, found by Phnom Penh municipal workers while carrying out work on the riverbed near Sokha Hotel on the Chroy Changvar peninsula, was located about 3m deep in the muddy ground. Accordingly, it was revealed that the US-manufactured bomb contained 500kg of explosives and weighed nearly 1,000kg in total. Ratana said Cambodia was fortunate that the bomb did not explode. Had it gone off, it would have injured many people and caused serious damage to nearby properties including the Royal Palace. Read more at: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/mine-team-continues-search-one-tonne-air-bombs
EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD
Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.
“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”