Asian Disaster Management News Vol. 8, No. 4 October-December 2002

With the opening up of its economy in the mid-1980s, Sri Lanka saw rapid development and growth, especially in the hill regions. It was also during this period that the country witnessed an escalation in landslide disasters and therefore the two events have been linked. To cite an example, in 1986 following unprecedented rain, more than 51 lives were lost, 10,000 families were rendered homeless and most development plans in the troubled areas came to a grinding halt. Even

Introduction

Social Indicator (SI) carried out its Study of Public Perceptions in the Jaffna peninsular for the third time in 2002. SI is an independent research organization, operating under the Board of Directors of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).

While capturing the views and beliefs of people on the peace process, this study also reaches out to cover issues such as the cost of living, education and health.

The survey carried out between 10 -- 14 December 2002 in the Jaffna, Nallur, Valikamam, Vadamarachchi and

By Scott McDonald

COLOMBO, (Reuters) - Tamil Tiger rebels accused the Sri Lankan military on Thursday of undermining the island's peace process in their toughest verbal attack since a truce to stop two decades of war was signed in February.

The Tigers said demands by the Sri Lanka Army that the rebels disarm as a condition for the relaxation of the military's high security zones in the north and east "has a diabolical motive of disrupting the current peace effort".

After the two sides met on a subcommittee

The Sub-committee on De-escalation and Normalisation comprising government and LTTE representatives have decided to resettle civilians in a limited geographical area within a High Security Zone in the Jaffna Peninsula, senior government officials said yesterday.

The resettlement will be done according to an integrated plan currently being prepared that will ensure the safety of the civilians concerned as well as the security of the military installations, these officials said. The plan includes de-mining the area and the restoration of essential services.

The Landmine Update is the International Campaign to Ban Landmines quarterly newsletter. This edition is followed by a calendar of upcoming events (available online). To date, 130 countries have ratified the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and an additional 16 have signed it. The most recent accessions are Afghanistan (11 September), Comoros (19 September) and Central African Republic (8 November), while recent ratifications include Cameroon (19 September) and Gambia (23 September).

Today the Government has decided on a new country strategy for development cooperation with Sri Lanka for the period 2003-2007.

The negotiations in progress between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been successful so far and inspire hope that peace will finally be reached after the deadly civil war that has plagued the country since 1983.

The Minister for Development Cooperation, Migration and Asylum Policy, Jan O. Karlsson, congratulates the parties to the conflict on the progress made so far in the peace negotiations and

Author/Origin: SLCBL (saliyaed@sltnet.lk)
(Colombo, Sri Lanka, 18-Dec-2002) - In January 2002, as a part of its advocacy events, the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines (Inter Religious Peace Foundation) launched a "Citizens Anti-landmines petition" aimed at obtaining 2 million signatures from citizens appealing to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to accede to the Ottawa Treaty, and calling upon the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to stop using antipersonnel landmines. By November 2002, this initiative had collected over one million signatures and represented

COLOMBO, Dec 17 (AFP) - Over 70,000 families have been made homeless in eastern Sri Lanka due to floods after heavy rains, local officials said Tuesday.

The district of Batticaloa was the worst affected with over 60,000 families forced to leave their flooded homes, officials said, adding that heavy rain had lashed the region for four straight days.

Government officials said they had mobilised volunteers to help provide flood victims with temporary shelter and food.

aj/an/rcw SriLanka-floods AFP

Copyright (c) 2002 Agence France-Presse

IP/02/1876
Brussels,13 December 2002

The European Commission has adopted a humanitarian aid decision worth €2 million to help victims of landmines in the war-affected areas of Sri Lanka. The aid is being channelled through ECHO, the Humanitarian Aid Office of the European Commission, which comes under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson.

Commenting on the decision, Commissioner Nielson said: "After almost twenty years of war, hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans now wish to return to their homes. The presence of huge