A press release issued by the Embassy of the United States in Colombo said the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ms. Patricia Butenis handed over the five ambulances to the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army Major General Daya Ratnayake today. The vehicles will ensure that demining teams have emergency medical care and transportation at all times.
Speaking at the event, Ambassador Butenis has commended the government's resettlement process in the North.
The Sri Lankan government has resettled nearly 95 percent of the 280,000 civilians displaced by the war that ended in May 2009.
"Demining is an essential element of this resettlement process. The mines have meant that people can't return to their homes, that farmers can't plant and harvest crops, that villagers have to worry about explosives in water wells, and that children can mistake a mine for a toy," Butenis has commented.
The Ambassador praised the Sri Lankan Army and Sri Lankan and international demining organizations for their heroic efforts in clearing most of the North and East of mines.
"However, much work still remains and our continuing support will enable the process to be completed more quickly," Butenis assured.
Appreciating the humanitarian demining assistance to Sri Lanka Army by the U.S. State Department since 2003, Major General Ratnayake has said that the ambulances donated today will definitely help the Army HDU to expand Humanitarian Demining activities further whilst maintaining the desired degree of safety.
"Whilst extending our gratitude on behalf of the Commander of the Army I sincerely hope that U.S. Government will continue to extend assistance in future too," he noted.
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