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Treading on safe land

Dealing with a deadly legacy

As dawn breaks spreading light all around, ushering in a new day farmers in their tractors head towards the paddy fields. Children dressed in spotless white uniforms make their way to school laughing all the way while the traders begin to get ready to face the rush. Already traffic starts to form in the roads. This is not a scene from the south of the country but from the north where a war came to an end three years ago.

Initial Contamination Year 2009

For three decades separatist LTTE terrorists waged a bloody war to spread their unholy authority over their own brethren in the name of freedom and liberty. After claiming thousands of innocent lives and ruining the lives of many more the war finally came to an end when Government Forces decisively defeated the LTTE in possibly the biggest Humanitarian Operation in the recent history of the world.

With the end war in May 2009, the GOSL mooted post war development work paying much emphasis on livelihoods and infrastructure development to re-establish normalcy in the north and east, the former theatres of conflict and fulfill its commitment in resettling the IDPs back in their villages in the shortest possible time. The dangerous remnants of war like land mines and unexploded ordinance are the first obstacles that should be removed to facilitate the resettlement process and the return of IDP's. There were over 280,000 IDPs who needed to be resettled.

Large areas of the north and parts of the east were heavily mined and buildings booby trapped by the LTTE in desperation to prevent the advance of the government forces and also to stop innocent civilians from escaping to safe zones established by the government.

Mine clearance is a vital prerequisite for the reconstruction and development operations that need to be undertaken to support the return of IDPs. De-mining and making land safe for people to return to is one of the vital steps in the process of getting people back to their homes. Priority is given to residential areas in the demining programme.

Mine clearance activities require much careful planning, co-ordination, expertise and extensive logistical support. And it is also a very expensive operation. The National Mine Action Center (NMAC) was established in July 2010 and it is the government's lead de-mining agency. The NMAC drafted a National Mine Action Strategy.

Post war surveys had revealed that more than 4000 square kilometers of land had been contained with mines in the former war zone. Human settlements, farmlands, grazing land, roads, railway lines, water bodies and beaches had been mined in addition to jungle areas. Government agencies like the Humanitarian Demining Unit of the Sri Lanka Army and a number of non NGOs were involved in the demining operations. Huge amount of funds which could otherwise be channeled to infrastructure and economic development programs were being spent on demining operations.

So far more than 95percent of the mined areas have been cleared and the remaining areas are expected to be free of mines in the near future. About 30 percent of the cleared areas have been cleared by the Sri Lanka Army. Demining personnel have recovered hundreds and thousands of mines and UXOs during their operations.

Humanitarian Demining in Puthukudiripu	Humanitarian Demining in Ampalavanpokkanai	Humanitarian Demining in Thirumurukandi

Sri Lanka's mine clearance programme has come under much praise by local and international experts for its efficiency. It is due to the commitment, support and the level of priority on the part of the government and the cooperation among all actors involved in the demining process. The international community plays a pivotal role in the demining programme. Nine demining agencies including the Sri Lanka Army Humanitarian Demining Unit are involved in clearing up the contaminated land in the north and east. Both national and international personnel work side by side sharing resources and expertise.

In addition to the actual mine clearance operation it is imperative that the public be educated on this issue. Continuous MRE campaigns conducted in the former conflict zones have helped to raise awareness among the returning people especially among school children. The message is widely disseminated through the national education system and the use of mass media complements these approaches. These programmes have helped to reduce the casualty figures drastically. The public health care system provides care and support to mine victims. A mine recovered is potentially a life saved.

Land mines are one of the deadly legacies left by the LTTE for the future generation. The death, destruction and carnage that they had brought upon the whole nation and at times even beyond the shores are something that every ordinary peace loving person wants to forget. The LTTE rump and groups with vested interests have misled certain sections of the international community which is increasingly getting trapped into this unholy alliance. And the outcome has cast a negative impact on the recovery of life in this resplendent island.

What those children going to school need is not to delve in the past and stagnate but to go forward and catch up with the rest. Sri Lanka is a free country and the GoSL is committed in providing every citizen equal opportunities.