Nearly 700 explosives found at firing ranges
The Defence Force’s ongoing clearance of firing ranges used by New Zealand soldiers in Afghanistan has dug up nearly 700 unexploded ordnance and war remnants, of which 11 per cent were possibly left behind by Kiwi troops.
The cache of mostly Russian explosives has been retrieved by an organisation hired by the Defence Force to clean up the ranges in Bamyan province.
Stuff Circuit’s documentary in 2019, Life + Limb, revealed 17 Afghan people were killed in nine separate incidents connected by the United Nations to the firing ranges used by New Zealand soldiers to train in Bamyan. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in November 2019 asked the Defence Force to urgently clear the ranges. A year on, a briefing to Defence Minister Peeni Henare shows the clearance project has run ahead of schedule and will soon resume after being suspended for Afghanistan’s harsh winter.
The Organisation for Mine clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR), hired by the Defence Force to clear the ranges, has since June 2020 found and destroyed 684 unexploded ordnances or explosive ‘‘remnants of war’’. Of these, 490 were deemed of Russian origin, 171 were of a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) military origin (a figure which includes the possible New Zealand ordnances), 20 found were of Chinese origin, and three were Iranian.
Of the Nato ordnance, 72 unexploded ordnances or explosive remnants were considered to be possibly left behind by New Zealand’s Provincial Reconstruction Team that had been operating in
Bamyan – 11 per cent of the total.
The majority, 72 per cent, were Russian. During the 1980s, Soviet Union troops fought in Afghanistan.
Ardern and the Defence Force both highlighted the possibility that explosives left on the ranges could be of Russian origin back in 2019.
That assertion grated with the Russian Government. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the ‘‘murder’’ of seven children was ‘‘a result of wrongdoings of New Zealand military who did not de-mine in the proper way the shooting ranges after using them’’.
The Defence Force briefing, obtained under the Official Information Act, said that despite Covid19 delaying the start of the clearance effort, OMAR was now ahead of schedule. Work on four of the five ranges to be cleared was 39 per cent complete as of October 31, 2020, ahead of the expected 32 per cent. The clearance of the fifth range was yet to begin. Stuff Circuit reported 39 square kilometres remained dangerous, something the Defence Force had been aware of. Ardern was first briefed on the issue in 2018.
The clearance of the ranges will be one of New Zealand’s last connections to Afghanistan, after the last six Defence Force soldiers returned home in March, ending a 20-year deployment.
Freedom campers could face stricter rules, including tougher requirements for vehicles and new fines for breaches.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said new rules were needed to protect the environment, remove the burden on locals and lift the quality of tourism, as he launched a public consultation in Northland yesterday.
There is a problem with campers toileting in inappropriate places – including on the side of the road, in the bush and in rivers, he said.
Proposed changes include tighter rules – either for camping vehicles to be certified self-contained, or tougher rules around where freedom camping can take place. Fines of up to $1000 or vehicle confiscation have been mooted for those who don’t play by the rules – up from a $200 fine – with rental firms required to collect fines.
Nash said some visitors were abusing freedom camping rules, and spoiling the experience for responsible campers, while leaving locals to clean up the mess.
He would like to see non-selfcontained vans and vehicles banned from camping use, but said the other option was for them to be allowed only in campgrounds and DOC camps.
Nash thought councils – who will be required to police the new rules – would be largely supportive of them.
He said backpackers, budget travellers and responsible campers were welcome in New Zealand, but freedom camping must be in the right vehicle and in the right place.
The consultation comes as New Zealand prepares to open its border with Australia in a trans-tasman bubble.
‘‘Changes will also support small business owners who run campgrounds or backpackers’ hostels, who have lost business,’’ Nash said.
‘‘Private campgrounds offer sites from around $20 a night. DOC has hundreds of campsites, many of which are free or as low as $6 a night.’’
If people cannot afford those costs, Nash questioned if they were the sort of people wanted in New Zealand.
The clearance project will soon resume after being suspended for Afghanistan’s harsh winter.