Sri Lanka

The Landmine Problem

Eighteen years of civil war have littered the Jaffna peninsula and northern Sri Lanka with their detritus, leaving the populace threatened by landmines and unexploded ordnance.  The Sri Lankan Government and insurgent Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam still abide by the February 2002 cease-fire agreement and are negotiating a permanent peace.  Following this cessation of hostilities, an estimated 800,000 refugees and internally displaced persons are returning to their homes in the north, putting even more people at risk.  The United Nations estimates that ten to twenty Sri Lankans are killed or injured by mines every month, and an increased flow of those returning to their homes can only increase this toll.

Humanitarian Demining Programs

Sri Lanka’s humanitarian demining programs are now able to function freely in the cease-fire, and the program is rapidly expanding.  The country’s first indigenous mine detection dog teams began operations this year, and were provided by the Marshall Legacy Institute and the U.S. Department of State.  This first group of six dogs began working in the summer of 2004.

Sri Lanka also saw the efficacy of mine detection dogs during 2002 and 2003, when the State Department’s Quick Reaction Demining Force (QRDF) provided humanitarian landmine clearance in high priority areas to help the first wave of returning refugees and internally displaced persons reach their homes safely.  The two QRDF teams, including 16 mine detection dogs, admirably demonstrated to Sri Lanka the great benefit of man’s best friend helping to restore landmine threatened areas.

The Marshall Legacy Institute’s Program

In 2005 and upon the request of the government of Sri Lanka, the Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) partnered with the U.S. Department of State to add seven fully trained mine detection dog teams to the island nation’s indigenous capacity.  Building on the successful implementation of the first DOS/MLI Mine Detection Dog Partnership in Sri Lanka, this program provided seven dogs sponsored by the private sector to Sri Lanka, where local handlers were trained and paired with the dogs.  By doubling the existing indigenous mine detection dog capabilities, this program provided Sri Lanka with a necessary asset for the nation working to recover from its two decades of civil war.

Following up on MLI’s close connection to the people of Sri Lanka and its need for further efforts to benefit landmine survivors and those threatened by landmines, MLI plans to further contribute in 2006.  MLI is working with a local NGO that assists landmine survivors and others with disabilities by providing them with prostheses, computer skills and job training.

For more information about MLI's (CHAMPS parent organization) trip to Sri Lanka,
click here.