Sri Lanka's target to be free of land mines by 2028 is under threat as US reviews aid

MANKULAM, Sri Lanka (AP) — Thavarathnam Pushparani fought on the front lines for the now-defeated Tamil Tiger rebels against the Sri Lankan forces in its decadeslong separatist war and later took to clearing the land mines on the same battle lines.

But the Trump administration's suspension of aid threatens Sri Lanka’s demining operations, pushing the livelihoods of thousands like Pushparani into uncertainty.

What is more uncertain for Sri Lanka now is its obligation to rid the island nation of mines by 2028 under the Ottawa Treaty, which it ratified in 2017.

Pushparani has experienced the civil war in its full fury. In her family, her husband, father and two brothers died fighting for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as the rebel group was formally known. Two other siblings are missing.

She was born in eastern Sri Lanka and while still in school, her family had to move to the northern parts of the nation after a countrywide ethnic pogrom against minority Tamils by majority Sinhala mobs in 1983.

The incident stirred up emotions among many Tamil youth who joined militant organizations to fight for an independent state for the Tamils. Pushparani too joined the Tamil Tigers while still a teenager in school.

“Because the whole of my family was with the organization they arranged my marriage. My eldest daughter was born in 1990 and the younger one was born in 1992. My husband died in battle in 1996 and my children were raised in the "Sencholai" home, run by the organization," said Pushparani.

She was reunited with her children when the fighting ended in 2009 and started working with demining groups for a living.

Funds pending review

Demining operations in Sri Lanka started in 2002 during a ceasefire period and the U.S. has been the major donor among 11 countries supporting the effort, contributing about 34% of the $250 million grants received for the projects so far.

The U.S. contribution was 45% of the grants received last year, according to M.M Nayeemudeen, director of the state-run National Mine Action Center.

Thanks to the international generosity, the demining operations continue to date despite being interrupted for a few years because of the break down of the ceasefire. They have so far managed to clear more than 2.5 million anti-personnel, anti-tank, small arms ammunition and unexploded ordnance.

Out of 254 square kilometers of land that originally needed to be cleared, only about 23 square kilometers are left to deal with. Whether that can be achieved by the 2028 deadline will depend on continued funding.

Nayeemudeen said once the aid suspension was announced, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry appealed and the U.S allowed the usage of its allocated funds pending a review, a decision on which is expected on May 1.

“We hope that on completion of the 90-day review period that commenced from Jan. 24, 2025, the U.S government funding assistance will continue," said Ananda Chandrasiri head of Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony, one of the four demining groups operating in the country.

"Otherwise it will create a grave problem for Sri Lanka to achieve mine-free status by the end of 2027 as targeted ... A huge reduction of staffing levels of the four operators would be inevitable.”

‘It looked like perfumed powder’

There are around 3,000 workers, most of them recruited from among the civil war-affected communities. With the uncertainty, some groups have already started terminating their staff, Nayeemudeen said.

Sri Lanka's civil war ended in 2009 when government troops crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels, ending their quarter-century separatist campaign. According to conservative U.N. estimates, about 100,000 people were killed in the conflict.

Civilian properties were demined, but large areas were still contaminated when hundreds of thousands of civilians who were displaced by the conflict came back to resettle. Mine awareness campaigns were held, but there were many accidents.

Kumarakulasingham Dinojan has lost his left hand below his wrist and has damaged fingers in his right hand from a mine blast. As a 9-year-old boy, he tried to open a metal container that he found in the woods. His brother, who was playing with him, also suffered wounds.

“My grandmother went into the woods to get firewood and we also followed her. We did not know that she had reached home through another way. We found a container which looked like a perfumed powder, and when we tried to open it, it exploded,” said Dinojan.

There were people who were injured or killed trying to open mines and use the explosives for fishing.

Vidya Abhayagunawardena, coordinator of the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Land Mines, said it's critical for Sri Lanka to ratify Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War. He also called for the enactment of domestic legislation to enforce the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified in 2016, to bolster the legal rights of the country’s disabled population.

Dinojan's older brother, Vilvaraj Vinothan, said his brothers becoming land mine victims made him take action and become involved in mine clearance. He has worked with the Mine Advisory Group for six years.

“Only when the land was being cleared that I understood how we should deal with the mines," he said. "That's when I decided to help, knowing it would benefit the entire community."

Pushparani is grateful that her demining income has allowed her to fulfill her family’s needs. She financed one daughter’s university education and her marriage. However, she also cares for a daughter injured in crossfire and an elderly mother.

“The reason for my choosing demining for livelihood is not only because of poverty. I also have a desire to see this land to be free of mines,” she said.

“I don't want to see our future generations being injured or affected by war. I can say that I am carrying the burden of both my family and of the country on my shoulders.”

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Francis reported from Colombo.