On Wednesday, July 16, 2003, His Excellency Devinda R. Subasinghe, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States, and Anthony Lake, Chairman of the Board of The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI), jointly hosted a gathering of eminent personalities in Washington DC, to raise funds for mine detection dogs to "sniff out" landmines and save lives in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Government has requested MLI's assistance in establishing an indigenous mine detection dog program in Sri Lanka. The Ambassador noted that despite the ceasefire after 20 years of conflict, "an estimated 700,000 landmines continue to cripple and kill innocent people, instill fear, discourage resettlement, development and deny use of land in the northern and eastern portions of Sri Lanka".

MLI is a Virginia-based, non-profit organization dedicated to donating trained mine detection dogs to severely contaminated countries. The Institute combines tax-deductible contributions from private donors with government funds to train local handlers to employ the dogs effectively in national mine clearance programs.

Ambassador Subasinghe explained that with current landmine removal capabilities it will take 25 -30 years to free the country of mines. He made special mention of the untiring efforts of Mrs Diana Enzi, Wife of Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) who had been the initiator for the Children Against the Mine Problem (CHAMPS) program. He explained that CHAMPS allows children to become involved in the global landmine epidemic by working with schools to educate children about the threat of mines and raising funds to "adopt" a mine detection dog. Ambassador and Mrs. Subasinghe are expected to visit Wyoming with the Enzi's to participate in the fund raising for this project soon.

Anthony Lake, former National Security Advisor, noted that a timeline of 30 years or so is "unacceptable and unnecessary." He suggested that donors could help reduce the timeline dramatically, and that while they 'may never know the names or see the faces of those they have helped, they can know that they have made a difference in their lives."

Nearly 700 dogs are working reliably and safely in 23 countries today. MLI President Perry Baltimore noted that "a highly trained, explosive- sniffing dog is an extremely valuable & versatile resource in the deminer's toolkit, and is the best detector of landmines in the field today." Brigadier Rohan Jayasinghe, Defence Attaché of the Embassy explained the efforts taken by both the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the NGOs in this endeavor to rid the affected areas of landmines.

Guests included Senator and Mrs. Mike Enzi (R-WY), James Lawrence from the Office of Mine Action Initiatives & Partnerships at the US Department of State, and corporate executives from Campbell Crane & Associates, CHuBB International, DMS - Architectural Services Inc., Limited Brands, Sandler Travis & Rosenberg, Sara Lee Branded Apparel and Shell Oil Company.

Embassy of Sri Lanka
Washington DC
USA

17 July 2003