| Accession Number | P03258.191 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Negative |
| Maker |
Smith, Heide |
| Place made | Cambodia |
| Date made | 1993 |
| Conflict |
Period 1990-1999 Cambodia (UNTAC), 1992-1993 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
|
Australian journalist Marje Prior interviews Captain (Capt) West, a New Zealand member of the ...
Description
Australian journalist Marje Prior interviews Captain (Capt) West, a New Zealand member of the Mine Clearance Training Unit (MCTU) about the activities of the unit which was located just outside Battambang. Lying at their feet is a Soviet made 122mm high explosive (HE) rocket of the type used by the Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF), the military arm of the State of Cambodia (SOC). Capt West is wearing a blue patch on his left breast pocket bearing the words 'Mine Clearance Training Unit UNTAC'. The MCTU comprised 183 officers and men who trained some 2,300 Cambodians in locating, marking and destroying minefields before handing the operations over to the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC). Marje Prior and photographer Heide Smith visited Cambodia in January and August 1993 to document Australian involvement with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), later publishing a book entitled 'Shooting at the Moon - Cambodian Peacekeepers tell their stories'.