Sri Lanka de-mining project begins

More than 60,000 have died in the war

A team of US-led experts has begun de-mining operations in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula.

The team is there at the request of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe and is due to stay for four months.

It is the latest indication of the progress of the country's peace process since Mr Wickramasinghe took office in December on a mandate to end nearly 20 years of civil war.

A senior Norwegian mediator has now left the island having described the progress of talks as "amazing".

Proper equipment

The Tamil Tiger rebels who control large portions of northern Sri Lanka say they estimate there are up to two million unexploded landmines in their territory, a legacy of fighting that has left more than 60,000 people dead.

De-miners often get killed or wounded in the process

Both the army and the rebels lack proper equipment to get rid of the mines.

De-miners in rebel-held areas often use bamboo spokes and metal forks to find the mines.

The US-led team comprises two American officers and 24 experts from Mozambique, together with four dogs trained to sniff out mines.

"This humanitarian de-mining team is a tangible expression of the United States' strong support for the current peace effort underway in Sri Lanka," the US Ambassador to Colombo, E Ashley Wills said on Friday.

"We hope that this team will make a significant and positive contribution to a return to normal life for ordinary people in Sri Lanka."

The presence of the de-miners is the result of talks in Jaffna last month between Mr Wills, Prime Minister Wickramasinghe and the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca.

'Too fast'

Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen, who has been mediating in Sri Lanka, says he believes the rebels are sincere about a negotiated settlement.

Helgesen - impressed with the talks

"I think it's remarkable how fast things are moving and how fast they're moving in the right direction," he told reporters on Saturday.

"Actually, it might be the case that things are moving a bit too fast because things need to settle on both sides, they need to get their respective apparatus realising the change and the amount of change taking place."

Deferred

The Norwegian mediators say although both sides have complained of failure to implement all the clauses of the ceasefire agreement they signed in February, these are not serious breaches.

The next stage is face-to-face peace talks - the first for seven years.

These are expected to take place somewhere in Thailand in mid-June.

At the moment, the Norwegians are helping both sides draw up an agenda for those talks, which are expected to focus on an interim administration for the north and east of Sri Lanka, the conflict areas.

It is thought the legal framework for a final political settlement would be deferred, partly because of the problems of getting a sufficient majority in parliament to amend the constitution.