BAR HARBOR — A group of Mount Desert Island High School students Wednesday commemorated the signing of an international land mines ban with a candlelight vigil.

More than 125 countries signed the ban in Canada Wednesday and Thursday, prohibiting the manufacture and deployment of land mines. Three countries conspicously absent countries are the United States, Russia and China.

Wednesday night’s vigil was designed to raise awareness on the issue and to send a message of disapproval to President Clinton who has refused to sign the ban, said MDI junior Jesse Einhorn. “We want to say we disagree with the President’s move,” Einhorn said in an interview in the afternoon.

The student movement was organized by MDI high school social studies teacher Mark Puglisi and is the first of several activities the group plans to hold.