Norway's Store urges Japan to support Oslo's cluster bomb ban

Kyodo News International/Japan Economic Newswire
Tokyo: Wednesday, 24 October 2007

Visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store on Wednesday called for Japan to support Oslo's efforts to push forward negotiations for an international ban on cluster bombs and also urged Tokyo to remain engaged in helping to improve the current crisis in Myanmar.

On Japan's refusal to support the Norway-initiated negotiation process for a ban on the use and trade of cluster bombs, Store said in an interview with Kyodo News upon his arrival in Tokyo for a three-day visit that he plans to raise the issue with his Japanese counterpart Masahiko Komura in their talks slated for Thursday.

"I will say to my Japanese colleague (Komura) that we respect Japan's deliberations. At the same time, I note that Japan and Norway have always been quite like-minded on issues of human security, disarmament, nonproliferation," Store said. "Having Japan on board will be an extraordinary boost to this effort."

Forty-six of the 49 nations that attended the February conference hosted by Norway adopted the Oslo declaration calling for a treaty banning cluster bombs by the end of 2008. Japan, Romania and Poland were the only three participating countries that said they would not support the declaration.

Japan has called for more debate on the issue at the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, or CCW, which has been dealing with issues connected to the munitions.

"I have nothing against the CCW as such, Norway is part of it. But I believe that responsible governments will have to measure if there is progress, if things are moving forward," Store said, adding that Norway and other countries have become impatient with the stalled CCW process.

"Let's choose the track that brings us to the desired outcome," he stressed. "This is not a naive exercise about simply denying the importance of artillery. What we are searching for is a negotiated result that would create a realistic ban on cluster munitions," Store said.

But Japan is questioning whether the envisioned treaty will be effective and has yet to extend its support for the negotiation process, which is similar to the one that realized the convention on the prohibition of antipersonnel land mines and involved government, nongovernmental and U.N. officials.

A senior official of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Komura is likely to assure his counterpart that Japan understands Norway's "goodwill" initiative and shares its concerns about the harm caused to people by the bombs.

"But it's meaningless unless you get the United States, China and Russia involved," the official said of the key nations that consider cluster bombs a significant part of their military arsenals. "It's a non-starter."

On the situation in Myanmar, Store urged Japan, along with key players in the region such as China, India, Russia and Myanmar's neighbors, not to give up on efforts to facilitate a resolution because they are the countries "who will be living with the consequences of where Myanmar is going."

He also expressed hope for the early return to Myanmar of U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari because "his presence could add to the effort of creating a dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi's democratic opposition and the military leadership."

Gambari, who will be in Japan from Thursday to Saturday as part of his trip to the region to coordinate moves among neighboring countries, has been given permission by the Myanmar government to revisit the country in early November.

Store said Norway supports the position of the European Union, which has imposed sanctions and other measures targeted at the Myanmar leadership and is urging the U.N. Security Council to take a clear stand on the issue.

"I don't believe that sanctions as an instrument is going to solve Myanmar's problems," Store said. "But I believe that it is important to send very clear signals to the (Myanmar) leadership that what is happening will not be ignored by the outside world."

During his stay in Japan, Store will give a lecture at the U.N. University in Tokyo on human security challenges, such as climate change, global health and cluster munitions, prior to his meeting with Komura on Thursday afternoon. He will also give a separate speech at a luncheon in a Tokyo hotel on Norwegian energy and environmental policies in the High North.

Store, who said Wednesday that Norway is hoping to export its harvest of whale meat to Japan, will also make an early morning visit to Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market on Friday before his departure.