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