(12 Jun 1997) T/I: 10:11:33
Britain's Princess Diana on Thursday (12/06) again spoke out in support of an appeal launched by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to raise $US12 million to help victims of land mines around the world.
SHOWS:
LONDON, UK 12/6
Diana walking up to podium
Diana SOT: "Ladies and Gentlemen, I must begin by saying how warmly I welcome this conference on land mines conveyed by the Mines Advisory Group and the Landmines Survivors' Network. It is so welcome because the world is too little aware of the waste of life, limb, and lands which anti personnel landmines are causing amongst some of the poorest people on earth. Indeed, until my journey to Angola earlier this year, of which I'm going to speak this morning, I was largely unaware of it too. For the mine is a stealthy killer, long after conflict is ended its innocent victims die or are wounded singly in countries of which we hear little. Their lonely fate is never reported. The world with its
many other preoccupations remains largely unmoved by a death row of something like 800 people every month. Many of them women and children. Those who are not killed outright - and they number around 1,200 a month- suffer terrible injuries and are handicapped for life. I went to Angola earlier this year in Jan. with the British Red Cross, a country where there are 15 million landmines in a population ladies and gentlemen of 10 million. With a desire of drawing world attention to this vital but hitherto but largely neglected issue. Some people chose to interpret my visit as a political statement, but it was not. I am not a political figure and as I said at the time and I'd like to reiterate now, my interests are humanitarian, that is why I felt drawn to this human tragedy. That is why I wanted to play my part in working
toward a worldwide ban on these weapons.
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