A rainy Bratislava welcomed the Ban Bus, which was parked on SNP square, in the very heart of the Slovak capitol. Daniel Barty, a journalist who is documenting the estimated 10,000 kilometres the Ban Bus is travelling, said that despite the pouring rain, Slovaks had been interested in talking to the bus crew, aiming for building support for a total ban of cluster bombs.
Ban Bus spokesman John Rodsted has given a personal account of meeting with cluster bomb survivors. Listening are HE Brit Løvseth (left) and HE Kathryn Coll, Ambassadors of Norway and Ireland to Bratislava, respectively (Photo by László Juhász)
John Rodsted, the main spokesperson for the Ban Bus initiative has explained how custer munitions or cluster bombs were used in the Balkans in the 1990s, causing numerous civilian casualties. In 1999, the US, UK, and Netherlands dropped an estimated 1,765 cluster bombs containing approximately 295,000 submunitions in then-FR Yugoslavia. Speaking at an Irish Embassy reception organized to welcome the Ban Bus in Bratislava, Mr. Rodsted also explained the “Oslo Process,” a series of diplomatic meetings initiated at the start of 2007, to raise awareness and built support for the creation of a new international treaty to ban cluster munitions and assist those affected by the weapon. The Convention on Cluster Munitions will be opened for signature in Oslo, Norway on 3 December 2008 (the international day for people with disabilities).
The Ban Bus in Sarajevo. Photo by Mette Eliseussen
The Ban Bus is an advocacy initiative that aims to raise public, political and media awareness for peace building and disarmament issues. In the three weeks leading up to the May 2008 Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, the Ban Bus toured Ireland to raise awareness and support for the strongest possible treaty banning cluster munitions.
The ultimate goal of the Ban Bus is to convince every state visited to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions when it is opened for signature on 3 December 2008 in Oslo, Norway. Three objectives are necessary to achieve this goal:
- Influence political decision-makers directly and through local campaign contacts.
- Create public awareness and support for the banning of cluster munitions.
- Generate media coverage in the states visited and internationally in the lead-up to the treaty signing ceremony.