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| International Gun Destruction Day 2005 |
| International Gun Destruction Day, 9 July 2005, was celebrated by NGOs holding gun destruction events and awareness raising programmes. |
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| Cambodia |
Over 4000 guns destroyed in Kampot |
Cambodia with the support of the European Union – Assistance on Curbing Small Arms and Light Weapons in Cambodia (EU-ASAC), destroyed 4497 surplus military weapons during its 40th Flame of Peace Ceremony held in the Kampot province on 6 July. The event, presided by the Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Minister of National Defence Tea Banh was to mark International Gun Destruction day, 9 July. Click here to read the speech given by David de Beer, EU-ASAC Programme Manager.
Since 2001, Cambodia has been destroying surplus weapons at the Flame of Peace Ceremony. To date, 163,000 weapons have been destroyed.
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| Ghana |
| The Ghana National Commission on Small Arms launched a regional awareness raising campaign against SALW. Click here for details |
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| Macedonia |
| Macedonia observed International Gun Destruction day with a special event organised by the interior ministry and the UNDP. A total of 3,100 pieces of light weaponry -- rifles, guns, mortars and even missile launchers -- were destroyed at the Makstil Steelworks furnaces in Skopje. The event was covered in the South East European Times. |
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| Senegal |
| Guns were publicly destroyed during a symbolic incineration ceremony. There was also a football match. |
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| The day also provided an opportunity for the Regional Body of Youth Organisations (CRSJ) and the Regional Youth Group for Social Justice (RJJS) to collect around 3000 new signatures for the Million Faces petition. Click here to join the Million Faces petition for an international Arms Trade Treaty. |
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| Somalia |
| GLED - Somalia marked International Gun Destruction Day with a press conference. They published a photo exhibition of children with guns with militia groups or the police. |
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| Sri Lanka |
A bulldozer crushing more than 30,000 guns in Sri Lanka |
In Sri Lanka, three events were held to mark the International Gun Destruction Day. For the first time, more than 32,342 weapons were publicly destroyed at the Independence Square in Colombo. The event was by the Ministry of Public Security, Law and Order together with the National Commission Against the Proliferation of Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.
South Asia Small Arms Network – Sri Lanka (SASA Net) organised a photo exhibition titled “A million reasons to control the arms trade”. The Control Arms report, ‘The impact of guns on women’s lives’ was also launched.
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UK
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| In the UK, mock weapons inspectors clad in white overalls destroyed fake guns in Devon. Click here for media reports |
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