News and Events
Marshall Legacy Institute Provides Humanitarian Assistance to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is contaminated by landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a result of nearly three decades of armed conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). MLI donated 12 MDDs and provided integration training to the Sri Lankan Army’s Engineer Regiment in 2004 and 2005, but a surge in fighting in 2008 and 2009 resulted in the early retirement of these MDDs. During this period, mine-production and mine-laying in the northern districts of Sri Lanka escalated, dramatically increasing the country’s landmine contamination. The GSL declared the war over in May 2009 after seizing remaining LTTE-controlled areas, but mines continue to threaten civilians and prohibit access to agricultural land, water and roads, while also preventing the return of tens of thousands of internally displaced people to their homes.
To assist in their mine clearance efforts, the Engineer Regiment requested additional MDDs and MLI responded with an initial donation and integration training for five MDDs in June 2011. MLI plans to donate an additional six MDDs to Sri Lanka in 2012.
On November 16, 2011, MLI participated in the MDD team graduation ceremony at the Sri Lankan Army Boo Oya Camp outside Vavuniya. The ceremony was attended by Brigadier Dhananjith, Chief Field Engineer of the Humanitarian Demining Unit; Adis Pelto, MLI’s MDD trainer; Monty Ranatunge, Director of the Sri Lanka National Mine Action Center; a representative from UNDP; John Head-Rapson of Millenium IT; Prashantha Peiris, MLI’s in-country representative; and the SLA MDD handlers and support staff from the Engineer Regiment.
After an impressive obedience demonstration, the MDDs demonstrated how dogs are able to quickly locate landmines by “sniffing out” the explosive off-gas, without sacrificing safety or accuracy. Following the demonstrations, the new handlers and their MDDs were presented with graduation certificates by MLI and were formally accredited.
To observe the new teams at work, the MLI delegation traveled to a SLA HDU demining site in Mannar, where a front line between the Sri Lankan military and LTTE forces left extreme mine contamination. The delegation observed the MDDs at this site, which is approximately ½ kilometer from the sea and 2 kilometers from a fishing village. So far, more than 1,000 anti-personnel mines, 2 anti-tank mines, and 150 unexploded ordinances have been recovered from this area; the newly accredited dog teams will be critical in accelerating the pace of mine clearance in this region.
In addition to providing additional life-saving MDDs, MLI is exploring the possibility of initiating its Children Against Mines Program and Survivors’ Assistance Program in Sri Lanka. During its visit, the MLI delegation met with Vijaya Ratnayake, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka, and explored the possibility of donating large quantities of custom designed medical supplies to landmine survivors and other victims of war. Additionally, the delegation met with Z. Thajudeen of the Ministry of Education, to explore initiating MLI’s Children Against Mines Program in Sri Lanka.
MLI is committed to helping Sri Lanka become a safe place for children to play, animals to live and communities to grow without the threat of landmines and plans to continue helping Sri Lanka address the long-term humanitarian dangers and destabilizing effects of landmines.
** The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was established in 1997 to extend the vision of Nobel Peace Laureate George C. Marshall by alleviating suffering and promoting hope, growth and stability in war-torn countries. MLI’s primary mission is to establish practical, affordable and sustainable indigenous programs to help severely mine-affected countries rid their land of the humanitarian dangers and destabilizing effects of landmines. This includes the development and implementation of the K9 Demining Corps (K9DC), which provides Mine Detection Dogs (MDDs) to accelerate the pace of landmine clearance operations; the Survivors’ Assistance program, which helps those who have been injured by landmines; and the Children Against Mines Program (CHAMPS), which promotes global citizenship and involves American youth in meaningful service-learning projects to help other children around the world. **
Contact: Tycie Horsley
703-243-9200
tycie@marshall-legacy.org