2 April 2002

U.S. Sends Demining Assistance to Sri Lanka
(Mine removal needed to resettle internally displaced people)

The United States is sending demining specialists to Sri Lanka this week in response to the government's plan to resettle 200,000 internally displaced people.

Following is the text of an announcement by the State Department April 2 regarding the demining assistance:

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Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 2, 2002

Demining Assistance to Sri Lanka

This week, the State Department will deploy a contractor-administered Quick Reaction Demining Force to Sri Lanka to conduct an assessment of the mine threat and to perform short-term mine clearance tasks. This deployment is in response to the Sri Lankan Government's plan to resettle some 200,000 internally displaced persons, who will have to travel through heavily mined areas in the Vanni and Killinochchi regions, as well as the Jaffna Peninsula. To complement Sri Lanka's current demining capabilities, the UN is initiating a program in Sri Lanka; however, it will be some time before UN operations can begin. The deployment of the Quick Reaction Demining Force will provide some demining support as the UN moves to commence its program of assistance, and is part of the U.S. Government's continuing support for efforts to bring peace to Sri Lanka.

The overall number of internally displaced persons expected to resettle in Sri Lanka is estimated at 800,000. The resettlement program follows a recently completed truce between the government and rebel factions. Landmine casualties already have resulted, prompting the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program to take action to help prevent further injury to returning populations.

The Quick Reaction Demining Force was established by the U.S. Department of State last year as a result of lessons learned from the immediate post-conflict situation in Kosovo, where similar threats to returning refugees existed. Established to respond to emergency situations quickly and efficiently, Quick Reaction Demining Force teams will help facilitate the safe return and resettlement of internally displaced persons. The Quick Reaction Demining Force mission will be implemented over the next four months by RONCO Consulting Corporation, a Washington, D.C.-based commercial demining firm. In 1999, RONCO won a global competition to provide demining support to the State Department. RONCO will employ two teams, each with ten persons and each equipped to demine with the support of mine detection dogs. The teams will locate, identify, map, record, mark, and destroy unexploded ordnance, landmines, and improvised explosive devices found in the areas designated for clearance.

When not deployed, the State Department Quick Reaction Demining Force is located in Mozambique where it conducts mine clearance operations in support of Mozambique's National Demining Office.