'Landmines never really stopped an enemy': Vidya Abhayagunawardena

SRI LANKA

Q: What drew you into the anti-landmine and disarmament movement in Sri Lanka?

A: In 1996, during the height of the war, I joined the Social Scientists Association which was part of the peace negotiations team. I was also part of the Bradford University Peace Studies Programme, and exposure to these two entities influenced me.

Later I joined the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines. One senior activist from India came to Sri Lanka in 1996 for a meeting in Colombo. I was voluntarily engaged with the campaign to ban landmines, but unfortunately, at that time both the government security forces and the LTTE were using landmines and were not agreeing to a ban.

Soon after the war, I became active in this cause. We held president-level meetings and urged Sri Lanka to accede to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Convention) and also the Cluster Munition Convention (Oslo Convention), and also urged them to ratify the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It took years for Sri Lanka to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty, Oslo Convention and ratify the UN Disability Convention.

Q: What was it like to convince people and authorities to ban landmines as a disarmament activist?

A: We had to convince the military, the government, the political leadership. Not only them but also the general public and families. All of them said, what if another war comes, how can we protect our military bases? So we had an argument with them. We succeeded in convincing everyone.

Sri Lanka showed the world that landmines are not a weapon to win a war. The Sri Lankan military at the last stage of the war was able to go through all the minefields in the jungle in Mullaitivu where the LTTE planted large amounts of landmines. Similarly, in 2005, the LTTE took over a heavily mined military camp in a matter of few hours, capturing large military equipment. Landmines never really stopped an enemy. In the end, who are the people mostly killed or injured by landmines? It is mostly civilians, during the war and after the war.

Everyone got convinced that landmines are an inhumane weapon. Moreover, injured people become a huge responsibility for the government. A child losing a leg or eyes—the government has to take care of their education and provide health facilities. It comes with a huge cost for a country like Sri Lanka. As of now we do not have good programmes for disabled people.

Q: How do you see your role as an activist as different from those of officials or the clearing agencies?

Mainly, two international organisations and two local NGOs work here. Their clearance support comes mainly from the international donor community. Except for the Sri Lankan Army Demining Unit—they get funding from the Sri Lankan government budget. All of them are doing a good job. We are pressure groups, advocating peace through disarmament.

Q: After nearly 15 years since the war ended, how do landmines and explosive remnants of war still affect civilians in the north and east?

A: Soon after the war, there were high casualties. UNICEF and few other NGOs based in the north and the east gave mine risk education. That was a very successful programme.

Because of risk education, mine accidents have gradually decreased compared to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Thailand border. In Sri Lanka's case it is less now.

Q: Can you share some stories or data on how mines continue to displace or affect the livelihoods of people?

A: Initially we had many people getting injured. Because of that, people were restricted from accessing contaminated areas and opportunities to engage in their livelihood activities were also affected. Schools were not open at that time because the school areas were contaminated with landmines, and religious places too.

Q: Can you elaborate on important articles of the Mine Ban Treaty?

A: Article 5 talks about the completion of the work and Article 7 talks about transparency measures. The very important one is Article 5—it mandates destruction of anti-personnel mines. That is where we have a ten-year deadline. Now we are reaching that deadline very soon in 2028. Article 7 is all about transparency measures, how the government is going to deal with the implementation of the convention.

Q: Do you feel the voices of landmine victims and affected communities are adequately represented in policymaking?

A: When it comes to clearance, mainly the government and the stakeholders within the mine action programme are involved. But when it comes to disability and victim assistance, that is where their role is very important.

In Sri Lanka's case, mine action victims are getting very low support. There was not even a database of the injured earlier. Now, the new government wants to help them. The National Mine Action Centre recently had a survey to record how many landmine victims are in the country. They also looked at housing issues. Fortunately, the Mine Action Centre comes under the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, so it is easy now to give victims housing benefits.

Q: When we talk about victims, are civilian victims and persons involved in the warfare treated differently in terms of victim assistance?

A: Military landmine victims and civilians are treated differently. Military persons injured in war are paid pensions. They have support from government health services; they have military hospitals. When it comes to civilians, we also have hospitals, but not the same level of support for civilian victims. There are children among mine victims in affected areas—they should be the priority in assistance. The schools they go to are not equipped to handle disabled students.

Q: How widespread was the use of cluster munitions in Sri Lanka's conflict and what evidence exists?

A: There is no evidence at all. If a country uses cluster munitions, only 40 to 45 percent explode, but the remaining 55 percent remains in the ground. But in our demining we have not found any cluster munitions. It also requires a different method in clearing—cluster munitions are not like landmines.

There was an allegation that the Sri Lankan government used cluster munitions and also some alleged that maybe the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) may have used cluster munitions. But I do not think cluster munitions were used in Sri Lanka. The government imported landmines from Pakistan and many other countries. Almost every landmine used by the Sri Lankan government was imported. But the LTTE produced landmines here, but not cluster munitions.

Q: Sri Lanka acceded to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in 2017. From your perspective, how meaningful has implementation been since then?

A: Very good. We are very happy; the people of Sri Lanka are benefiting from this now. All the political leadership and governments after the war were supportive of the Ottawa Treaty and its implementation. During the pandemic and economic crisis, we were also continuing the mine action programme.

Q: Do you believe that Sri Lanka will meet its Article 5 obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty?

A: We are finding new minefields, so we will not be able to complete within the timeframe before 2028. We need to go for an extension.

Q: How do you view the Sri Lankan mine action programme and the work of the mine clearing agencies?

A: As I mentioned earlier, all four NGOs working in Sri Lanka depend on international donor funding. Recent US government aid cuts affected the mine action programme, not only in Sri Lanka but for the entire world. The Sri Lankan mine action programme depended 50 percent on US government funding. But they are doing good work despite the odds.

Q: How politicised is mine action in Sri Lanka? Do political rivalries or centralisation of power ever delay or compromise the process?

A: No, the mine action programme is not politicised at all. We as campaigners say not to politicise the mine action programme. It is a people's programme. We have a lot of issues in other schemes and programmes, but the mine action programme is transparent and accountable.

Q: How large is the military demining programme compared to other humanitarian mine clearing NGOs?

A: The army has big capacity and they do not depend on international donor support. The Sri Lankan military has to play a crucial role after clearance, when it comes to residual contamination. Then those four NGOs are not going to be here. The Sri Lankan army will take care of that responsibility in the future.

Q: Can you elaborate on what residual contamination is?

A: There is no guarantee that land is 100 per cent free of landmines after a minefield is declared as cleared. This is the case around the world. Recently Mozambique declared itself as a mine-free country, but now they are finding a few more mines. You have seen that from time to time in Germany, World War II bombs are found when the land is dug. So some mines remain somehow. That is residual contamination.

Q: In Sri Lanka, what types of devices were used and what remains in the land?

A: Mainly landmines and rocket launchers used by both sides. There are also anti-tank mines and claymore mines. Not like Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia—all sorts of weapons were used there.

Q: But Sri Lanka is comparatively smaller in landmass than other countries, right?

A: Yes, Laos and Vietnam are large countries compared to Sri Lanka. But the contamination in the jungle is the issue here.

Q: Are mines laid in forest areas affecting wildlife?

A: Yes, during the war time we raised this issue—not to lay mines in jungle areas. Elephants, leopards, and other wildlife might get injured. There were few incidents in the past. Nothing recorded recently. One elephant lost a leg and was housed in an orphanage.

Q: From a development perspective, has the land released after clearance economically helped the people?

A: Soon after the war, most of the people were in IDP camps and wanted to go back to their land. The mine action programme was helpful for them to go back to their original land. Agricultural and fishing activities restarted; children were able to go to school.

But in the jungle, despite it being illegal, certain people's livelihoods depend on it. They go for firewood; some people collect honey. Overall, demining improves the lives of people. It's helping a lot.

Q: What role can civil society, NGOs, or activists like yourself play in ensuring Sri Lanka remains accountable beyond 2028?

A: We all want to see the last mine removed from Sri Lankan soil. Beyond that we will continue our advocacy because the anti-personnel landmine ban law should continue in the future. We are also advocating for the government to pass a law to ban cluster munitions through parliament and uphold the disability convention. Though we ratified the disability convention in 2016, till date the Sri Lankan government has not been able to pass the local law to implement the disability convention in the country. The disability convention is important not only for landmine victims, but for the entire disabled community in the country.

Q: What role do you think Sri Lanka's mine-free status will play in impacting South Asia's disarmament scenario?

A: Our campaign is not only for Sri Lanka. We are campaigning in neighbouring countries to become parties to the conventions. In 2018, we went to Maldives. Maldives is a state party to the Ottawa Convention, but not to cluster munitions. We also encouraged them to be party to the nuclear ban treaty—the total prohibition of nuclear weapons.

So we are also campaigning for a nuclear ban, as well as campaigning to stop autonomous weapons like killer robots. In the region, we are advocating for Bangladesh to become a party to the convention. We campaigned in Nepal too. We are looking at the smaller countries. India and Pakistan claim that they have border issues, but we question both the Indian and Pakistani governments about the use of landmines. At the end of the day, it is not totally the military getting caught in landmines—it's mostly civilians.

Q: There is an allegation that even the IPKF laid a lot of landmines in Sri Lanka. How true is this?

A: It is claimed that the IPKF also used landmines during their operation in Sri Lanka. Not many Indian landmines are found here. We mostly find landmines used by the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military.

Q: There are increased conflicts around the globe. Why do you think countries are not learning lessons of peace, particularly having so many examples of the legacies of war that continue to harm people even after the war ends?

A: It depends mainly on the mentality of politicians. In Sri Lanka it was an internal conflict; we had nothing to do with any neighbouring countries. So imagine if we had a war with another country—I don't think we would have been able to come back to normalcy in such a short time.

So wars are a political game. We respect the national security of any country. But if you improve human security as a whole, it automatically benefits national security. Putting more money into health, education and public transport sectors is better. People are more comfortable having good jobs and good education.

Q: What do ordinary Sinhala people feel about landmines, landmine victims, or infested areas in the north and east?

A: Nobody wants to go to war. But when it comes to politics, people's mindset is going to be different. So some people, as I mentioned, usually claim that if we sign those treaties and another war comes, we will not be able to protect our military bases. These opinions are mostly from the south.

Q: So according to you, landmines are one of the war legacies that continue to bring back memories of the conflict?

A: Yes, because if somebody is suffering from a landmine or any other war injuries, it will haunt them their whole life. War legacies are going to be there either as memories or unexploded ordnances. That is why we want to heal them. Look at the World War II—Hiroshima, Nagasaki. We still talk about them; some memories are carried for generations.