US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1430

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 COLOMBO 001430 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/INS, PM, PM/HDP 
 
E.O. 12958:   N/A 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, MOPS, PREF, KHDP, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  FY-2004 Humanitarian Demining Plan for 
Sri Lanka 
 
Refs:  (A) State 155578 
 
-      (B) Colombo 1295, and previous 
 
1.  In response to Ref A, Mission's Humanitarian 
Demining Plan follows. 
 
Begin text: 
 
-------------------------------- 
SECTION ONE -- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
-------------------------------- 
 
A.  BACKGROUND: 
 
Twenty years of civil war in Sri Lanka have left a 
severe mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem in Sri 
Lanka.  The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) both utilized mines in 
their battle strategies, leaving the country to deal 
with the menace of roughly one million landmines, 
largely concentrated in the north/east of the country. 
Heavy fighting in the north/east, with shifting lines of 
control, exacerbated the UXO problem, with thousands of 
tons of UXO estimated to be present. 
 
With the onset of the peace process in December 2001, 
numerous demining groups are undertaking mine clearance 
efforts in Sri Lanka.  Adherence to international 
standards continues to be a challenge, however.  Level 
One and general assessments have been done, but a 
comprehensive survey has not yet been completed.  The 
U.S. has provided short-term assistance through two 
Quick Reaction Demining Force (QRDF) deployments. 
Future projects will concentrate on building indigenous 
mine clearance capacity within Sri Lanka. 
 
B.  NATURE OF THE THREAT: 
 
The areas effected most severely by the mine threat are 
the north and east, where most of the fighting occurred 
during the conflict.  Mine casualties are estimated to 
run as high as 15-20 a month.  The latest survey 
statistics show that upwards of 400 villages are known 
to be affected by mines.  Sri Lanka Army maps of its 
minefields are adequate for the most part.  LTTE maps of 
minefields, when they exist, however, are of low 
quality.  The conflict displaced approximately 800,000 
people in the north/east, and as these Internally 
Displaced Persons (IDPs) attempt to return to their 
places of origin, the landmine situation exacerbates 
what is already a difficult situation.  (Note:  Over 
300,000 IDPs have already returned to their places of 
origin.  Mine and UXO casualties are high among 
returnees.) 
 
The mines involved are mainly a mixture of Pakistani, 
Chinese, Italian, and local manufacture.  UXO follows 
the same pattern.  UXO is most commonly found near 
buildings, schools, and in fields.  Munitions include 
artillery shells, rockets, cartridges, and improvised 
explosive devices. 
 
C.  MINE CASUALTIES: 
 
Since the ceasefire accord was signed between the GSL 
and LTTE in February 2002, there have been roughly 150 
civilian casualties due to mines and UXO, according to 
figures from the UN and the HALO Trust.  For the same 
period, there were 41 military casualties due to 
demining accidents and three due to mines and UXO.  The 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has 
started a victim's assistance program in Sri Lanka, and 
through the Leahy War Victims Fund, U.S. assistance is 
provided to a prosthetics center in Jaffna, located in 
the north of the country. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
SECTION TWO -- OPERATIONAL PLANNING DOCUMENT 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
A.  GENERAL: 
Our National Demining Program for Sri Lanka has been 
divided into three distinct phases: 
-- Phase One:  (2002-Present) Prepare for long-term 
DoD/DoS train-and-equip program, while dealing with the 
situation in the short-term via Quick Reaction Demining 
Force "I" and "II." 
 
-- Phase Two:  (Present) State Department-sponsored 
RONCO demining instructors to train the Sri Lanka Army 
in internationally accepted humanitarian demining 
standards.  Training will be followed by technical 
oversight of demining operations in cooperation with the 
SLA. 
 
-- Phase Three:  (FY-2004) Assess impact of previous 
programs, with follow-on action to be determined. 
Possible programs include additional funding to 
established mine risk education programs, strengthening 
of existing U.S.-trained Sri Lanka Army demining forces 
with additional equipment or training, and the 
widespread deployment of mine detecting dogs. 
 
>>> More details on these phases follows below: 
 
i) Phase One:  (2002-Present) 
 
Phase One was conceived as the planning stage, to assess 
indigenous capacity to accept demining assistance, to 
identify the most appropriate recipients of said 
assistance, and to move forward with an indigenous 
capacity-building strategy.  While the DoD/DoS train-and 
equip program was temporarily sidelined by the 
international situation, two successive QRDF teams were 
sent to Jaffna, one from April-October 2002, and the 
other from March-July 2003. 
 
ii) Phase Two:  (Present) 
 
Under the sponsorship of the State Department, a RONCO 
team will begin a training program for Sri Lanka Army 
officers, enlisted personnel, and medics in August 2003. 
The program will include basic demining methods, 
emergency medical procedures and mine action supervisory 
tactics.  Following the successful completion of 
training courses, the Sri Lanka Army will begin demining 
areas in the north/east to internationally accepted 
standards.  Specific tasks during the operational phase 
will include: 
 
- Humanitarian demining operations by the Sri Lanka Army 
with RONCO technical oversight focused on facilitating 
return of IDPs 
 
- UXO removal in affected areas 
 
- Close cooperation with UNDP to improve surveys and 
available maps 
 
iii) Phase Three: (FY-2004) 
 
In the long-term, strategic considerations include 
continuing to develop national capabilities to perform 
mine action activities to internationally accepted 
standards with the aim of developing indigenous Sri 
Lankan management and implementation.  After determining 
program impact of Phase Two, additional follow-on action 
will be determined.  Depending on level of impact and 
performance in developing indigenous mine clearance 
capacity, additional training and/or equipment may be 
deemed appropriate.  Specific items could include: 
additional training on improvised explosive devices; 
ongoing training and improvement in deployment of dogs; 
and additional equipment, i.e., vegetation cutters; 
mechanical flails, etc. 
 
B.  ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 
 
Since U.S.-led demining efforts began in April 2002, 
large amounts of progress has been made.  Totals for 
QRDF I in 2002 were 980 mines removed, along with 42 
pieces of UXO, and a total of 122,000 square meters 
cleared.  In 2003, QRDF II removed 244 mines and 106 
pieces of UXO.  Total square meters cleared was 72,208. 
The land cleared in QRDF I and QRDF II facilitated safe 
IDP return. 
 
C.  PROGRAM STATUS: 
 
The Sri Lankan government's National Steering Committee 
on Mine Action (NSCMA) is the only national-level mine 
action office in Sri Lanka.  The UNDP is currently 
strengthening the management and technical capacity of 
the GSL to deal with the landmine threat by implementing 
a program of support for the NSCMA. 
 
At present, there are about twelve organizations 
conducting mine clearance or education programs in Sri 
Lanka, which relies largely on donor support for mine 
clearance programs.  The Sri Lanka Army Engineers 
division conducts clearance and removal duties, but has 
inadequate funding to deal with the extent of the 
landmine problem.  Moreover, international standards of 
mine clearance are not currently in place. 
 
D.  PROGRAM TRANSITION: 
 
The level of cooperation and appreciation shown by the 
government to US-led efforts in the past has been 
outstanding.  With the startup in the near future of a 
major train-and-equip program by the U.S. to the Sri 
Lanka Army, indigenous support is expected to grow even 
further.  As the goal of the FY-2003 program is to 
establish an indigenous capacity, further oversight will 
be needed to ensure:  a) adherence to internationally 
accepted standards of mine clearance; and b) that the 
nature of mine clearance activities are humanitarian in 
nature, with maximum emphasis placed on facilitating IDP 
returns. 
 
------------------------- 
SECTION THREE -- TRAINING 
------------------------- 
 
USG DOS PROVIDED TRAINING: 
 
Phase Two training is set to begin in late August 2003. 
The demining platoon will consist of an organic 
leadership structure within the Sri Lanka Army, 
consisting of two demining sections.  Each section will 
consist of eleven personnel -- one team leader, one 
second-in-command, one medic, and eight deminers.  The 
training platoon will consist of two teams, with 
selected officers, senior noncommissioned officers, and 
enlisted personnel from field engineer regiments.  At 
the completion of training, it is estimated that there 
will be nearly two hundred trained deminers and deminer 
instructors produced by the project. 
 
Future (FY-2004) training would be assessed on 
completion of the FY-2003 program to ascertain future 
needs and address any operational difficulties observed 
in the first iteration of training.  Specialized 
training in improvised explosive devices and training 
with mine detecting dogs is recommended in the future. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
SECTION FOUR - MAINTENANCE AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
A. MAINTENANCE PLANNING SUPPORT 
 
This will be assessed on completion of training before 
moving into the operational phase.  All equipment 
purchased for this project will, upon completion of the 
contract, be donated to the Sri Lanka Army. 
 
B. LOGISTICS SUPPORT ANALYSIS: 
Not relevant at this time as the major end-items 
provided are still to be determined. 
 
C. SUPPLY SUPPORT OBJECTIVE:  N/A 
 
D. SUPPORT EQUIPMENT:  N/A 
 
E. COMMERICAL MANUALS AND TECHNICAL DATA:  N/A 
 
F. FACILITIES OBJECTIVE: 
 
Repairs and improvements to structures used by RONCO 
personnel for training or habitation will be assessed on 
an ongoing basis, subject to operational needs.  At 
present, no major repairs are foreseen. 
 
G. TRAINING SUPPORT AND COMPUTER RESOURCES:  N/A 
 
--------------------------------- 
SECTION FIVE - FUNDING OBJECTIVES 
--------------------------------- 
 
A.  NADR FUNDING PRIORITIES: 
 
Funding priorities will follow on needs assessed during 
current year project.  Due to the nature of the program, 
i.e., building indigenous capacity, funding needs will 
likely be in the areas of equipment maintenance and 
replacement. 
 
B.  FMF RESOURCES:  N/A 
 
C.  OHDACA: 
 
A Blast Resuscitation and Victim analysis (BRAVA) Team 
has been initiated by DoD and is expected to start 
deploying in the first quarter of FY-2004.  The focus 
will be training for the treatment of civilian 
casualties associated with victims from mine/UXO 
explosions.  In addition, DoD conducted a survey for a 
Humanitarian Action Demining (HA-D) training program 
that had been expected to start in the second quarter of 
FY-2003.  Unfortunately, events involving the 
international situation forced the reallocation of the 
U.S. military personnel that were designated to conduct 
the training.  Since that time, the United States Marine 
Corps has been given the responsibility for HA-D in Sri 
Lanka and is expected to start deploying in FY-2004 once 
unit training is completed. 
 
D. OTHER DONORS: 
 
At present, roughly twelve organizations are operating 
in Sri Lanka.  The UN provides two technical advisers 
for mine action, and maintains a database comprising the 
most complete records on landmines at present.  Made up 
of reports from NGOs and mine records obtained from the 
Sri Lanka Army, the UN's Information Management System 
for Mine Action (IMSMA) database is currently the most 
comprehensive in Sri Lanka.  UNDP, HALO Trust, Norwegian 
People's Aid, Danish Demining Group, UNICEF, Mines 
Advisory Group, Mine Free Planet, the Swiss Federation 
for Demining, Handicap International, Mines Awareness 
Trust and the pro-LTTE Tamil Rehabilitation Organization 
(TRO) all perform mine clearance and/or education 
programs. 
 
End text. 
 
2.  Mission point of contact for humanitarian demining 
is Political Officer Chris Long, office 941-448-007, 
ext. 2426; home 941-551-365. 
 
3.  Minimize considered. 
 
ENTWISTLE