Cablegate: Sri Lanka: Army Mine Action Efforts Stall In
VZCZCXRO8190
PP RUEHBI
DE RUEHLM #1906/01 3181218
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141218Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4715
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 9588
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6516
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 4573
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 3315
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0209
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 3404
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0439
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2485
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 7058
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 4875
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1511
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001906
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM PREF MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: ARMY MINE ACTION EFFORTS STALL IN
UNCERTAIN SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
REF: COLOMBO 1140
This message is sensitive but unclassified.
1. (U) Summary: December 2006 marks the end of the four-year,
eight million dollar USG-RONCO contract in Sri Lanka which
has successfully trained a Sri Lanka Army humanitarian mine
action unit of nearly 600 deminers and mine detection dog
handlers. On November 3, SLA mine action coordinator
Brigadier Chrishantha de Silva told us that without continued
support by expatriate technical advisors at demining sites in
the north and east, the SLA would lack credibility with the
Tamil population and possibly risk being targeted by the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Poloff and RONCO
head of mission countered that the program has largely
completed its mandate to build indigenous capacity. We
emphasized the opportunity to institutionalize the SLA mine
action program by consolidating and restarting clearance
activities and suggested pursuing integration into the
Ministry for Nation Building and Estate Development as a
civilian mine clearance unit. Meanwhile, the U.S.-based
Humpty Dumpty Institute has agreed to fund the HALO Trust and
Land O Lakes in Jaffna in an innovative mine clearance and
dairy development initiative. End Summary.
Other Commitments for Deminers
------------------------------
2. (SBU) On November 3, Sri Lanka Army Engineers Mine Action
Coordinator Brigadier Chrishantha de Silva outlined for
poloff the effect of the prevailing insecurity on the
Government of Sri Lanka's (GSL) demining efforts. De Silva
said he had visited SLA Jaffna Headquarters the previous week
to request that Jaffna Commander Major General Chandrasiri
release some Army Engineers for humanitarian demining tasks.
De Silva lamented: "I saw the military's immense
responsibilities in Jaffna, and I couldn't convince him.
General Chandrasiri promised me that the moment there is a
respite (in the fighting) he will release 30 deminers to work
in Jaffna and the east." The Brigadier noted the security
situation had forced a delay in refresher training for SLA
deminers in Embilapitiya scheduled for November.
3. (SBU) The SLA is currently involved in military demining
along the Jaffna Forward Defense Line and in the eastern
Trincomalee district following recent clashes with the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during which the LTTE laid
new anti-personnel mines. RONCO training has brought SLA
military demining "up to international humanitarian
standards," de Silva said, though not for humanitarian
purposes. The Brigadier noted, "Though we may not open the
A9 highway (connecting the Jaffna peninsula to the rest of
the island through the LTTE-controlled Vanni), clearing mines
there will help facilitate moving civilians eventually, as
well as troops." The Brigadier assessed that the SLA will be
able to step up mine action efforts in the east before it can
resume in Jaffna.
Expatriate Enablers
-------------------
4. (U) USG contractor RONCO suspended Colombo-based
operations in Sri Lanka at the end of October at the onset of
the rainy season. The contract was due to end in December
2006; the suspension and departure of expatriate technical
advisors and Colombo-based director Fredrik Palsson will
allow remaining contract money to be conserved to address
problems in the Mine Detection Dog (MDD) program. This has
suffered, in part because SLA dog handlers are periodically
assigned temporary duty away from mine action. RONCO's MDD
program trainer will remain in country for up to six weeks
more under the contract.
COLOMBO 00001906 002 OF 003
5. (SBU) As he did during PM/WRA officer Deborah Netland's
visit in July-August 2006, the Brigadier lamented that
without RONCO, the SLA would not have the credibility lent by
expatriate Technical Advisor presence. He opined: "We're
doing humanitarian work, but we're a party to the conflict.
HALO Trust and Danish Demining Group (the two demining
agencies operating in Jaffna) use expatriates at every site,
so they have no problem with either side (the LTTE or the
security forces)."
6. (SBU) Brigadier de Silva repeatedly emphasized in his
November 3 meeting with poloff and RONCO Chief of Party
Fredrick Palsson that "the GSL is committed to the mine
action program and to the SLA leading it." Lowering his
tone, however, he added: "Frankly, my worry is that the SLA
mine action program will die a natural death. We're working
in areas of confrontation (between Tamil and Sinhalese
civilians). The presence of expatriates builds confidence in
conflict situations." He claimed that LTTE cadres had fired
on SLA deminers in the eastern area of Welikanda (near
Trincomalee) in September, forcing them to abandon work at
the site.
7. (U) In the absence of expatriate technical advisors as
RONCO completes its four-year, $8 million USG contract in Sri
Lanka, de Silva requested that the Ambassador and other
embassy officials make frequent, well publicized visits to
demining sites in Jaffna, Vavuniya and the east to lend
credibility to the SLA's humanitarian efforts.
Pushing the Bird from the Nest
------------------------------
8. (U) RONCO Chief of Party Fredrik Palsson expressed his
satisfaction "with what we have achieved together in building
Sri Lanka's capacity for humanitarian demining." Poloff
emphasized to the Brigadier that the suspension period
provides an opportunity for the Government of Sri Lanka and
the Army to show the Department of State that the GSL is
committed to institutionalizing its humanitarian mine action
program. The rainy season can provide an opportunity for the
SLA to consolidate, refresh and restart its clearance
activities and/or begin to integrate into the Ministry for
Nation Building and Estate Development. A national civilian
demining program could tap substantial Japanese donor money,
which under Japanese law cannot go to a military entity.
Mines for Milk
--------------
9. (U) As the Sri Lanka Army demining unit faces logistical
challenges, another US-based initiative seeks to augment
confidence building and development efforts among Tamil
populations in Sri Lanka. In October, representatives from
the U.S. NGO Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) and dairy giant
Land O Lakes visited Colombo to meet with the Embassy and
finalize a two-part mine clearance/ dairy development project
for the Jaffna peninsula. By monetizing red lentils donated
by USDA, HDI will fund mine clearance by the HALO Trust.
Land O Lakes will then partner with local Sri Lankan dairy
companies to develop small-scale pasteurization facilities on
cleared land. As many Jaffna residents own one or more milk
cows, HDI and Land O Lakes hope to utilize existing livestock
to develop a dairy cooperative on the Jaffna peninsula. The
co-op could market its products in Jaffna and island-wide,
contributing to much-needed economic development of the
north.
10. (U) Despite the fluctuating security environment in the
north and east, we support the continuation of the program in
conflict-affected Jaffna (rather than in predominantly
Sinhalese Anuradhapura) to extend our outreach to Tamil
civilians, as Ambassador noted in an October 5 meeting with
COLOMBO 00001906 003 OF 003
HDI president Ralf Cwerman. HDI and Land O Lakes intend to
establish a joint office in Colombo by early 2007. The HALO
Trust is already utilizing HDI funds for ongoing mine
clearance in Jaffna.
Capacity-Building, Not Dependence-Building
------------------------------------------
11. (SBU) Comment: It is not surprising that the SLA is
protesting the suspension of on-the-ground expatriate support
through RONCO, despite having known from the onset the
program was meant to build Sri Lanka's indigenous demining
capacity. The current security environment has led Sri
Lanka's under-funded military to recommit soldiers trained in
demining to the battlefield. However, the onus rests on the
Government of Sri Lanka to utilize the resources we have
provided to strengthen and institutionalize its mine action
program as a crucial confidence building measure for its
citizens. Meanwhile, the HDI/HALO/Land O Lakes project
highlights how the U.S. private sector can step in to address
humanitarian needs.
BLAKE