02 April 2002
U.S. Sends Demining Assistance to Sri Lanka
(Mine removal needed to resettle internally displaced people) (440)
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:
(begin text)
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.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
