TXFO01: SRI LANKA AND MALDIVES SITREP NO. 10,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000093

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS AND CA/OCS
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/DCHA/OFDA - THAYER, FLEMING, GARVELINK
GENEVA FOR NANCY KYLOW
BANGKOK FOR USAID/OFDA - TOM DOLAN
NEW DELHI FOR FAS
USPACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2015
TAGS: AEMR EAID CASC PGOV CE MV
SUBJECT: TXFO01: SRI LANKA AND MALDIVES SITREP NO. 10,
JANUARY 12

REF: COLOMBO 70 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission. 1.4 (b,d)

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SRI LANKA
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1. (U) Consular efforts: The consular section continues to
focus entirely on tsunami-related efforts. The number of
AmCits deaths in Sri Lanka still stands at eight, with one
addition AmCit missing and presumed dead. Consular staff
have reduced the number of welfare and whereabouts cases to
six AmCits unaccounted for. (There are no AmCits unaccounted
for in Maldives.)


2. (U) Casualty figures: The death toll around the island
continues to remain somewhat static. The Government of Sri
Lanka's (GSL) official figures are 30,882 dead, with an
additional 6,088 missing. Over 15,000 people remain injured.
Some 500 IDP camps are tending to the needs of close to
300,000 displaced people.


3. (U) Life in Sri Lanka: On January 11, 12,000 children in
the affected areas returned to schools where the students
were often met by debris-filled classrooms with desks and
chairs in piles. UNFAO estimates that 66 percent of Sri
Lanka's fishing fleet was rendered inoperable by the December
26 tsunami. UNICEF reports that, by next week, it will
complete a survey to identify all children who are
unaccompanied (those whose parents are dead or missing) and
begin efforts to locate family or other relatives.


4. (SBU) USG relief efforts: The public affairs section is
preparing a press release that will tally the amount and
types of aid that the United States is providing to Sri
Lanka. As one facet of relief assistance, USAID hopes to
program significant funds and begin activities in the next
two weeks. Given the scope of on-going relief efforts, the
DART will remain in place for the foreseeable future. USAID
DART members will participate in a WFP meeting in Colombo on
Saturday, January 15.


5. (C) The U.S. military continues to expands its program
and work closely with the GSL, USAID, and INGOs in fully
utilizing its resources. The USS Duluth is currently
operating off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, supporting
personnel conducting engineering operations in the Galle
area. U.S. military officials in Galle have coordinated with
the Governor of the Southern Province to identify priority
areas and needs in which to employ U.S. resources. Military
commanders plan to leave personnel on the ground in the south
while the Duluth transits to Sri Lanka's eastern coast so
that helicopter assets can provide heavy lift for
transferring tons of produce from the up-country region to
the Ampara district, one of the country's most devastated
regions. On January 14, a U.S. medical advance team will
travel to Jaffna in preparation for the January 16 arrival of
the U.S. military medical team to provide expertise and
support to Point Pedro Hospital in the government-controlled
north. (Note: At the time the tsunami hit, only one surgeon
was on duty at Point Pedro Hospital, tending to the thousands
of casualties.)


6. (C) Visitors in support of U.S. assistance: The majority
of the members of CODEL Leach departed Sri Lanka today,
headed to India. The members, who spent part of January 11
in Galle being briefed by General Panter, visiting an IDP
camp at a Buddhist temple, and a school that had been funded
by AID/OTI, commented that the trip had given them a much
better understanding of the devastation and the depth of the
needs for rehabilitation. In the coming days, Deputy
Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, accompanied by PACOM

SIPDIS
Commander Admiral Fargo, will tour the affected areas and the
U.S. military relief efforts in the country.
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MALDIVES
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7. (U) Relief priorities: As the death toll remains at 82,
with 26 still missing, the Government of the Republic of
Maldives (GORM) is focusing on water and shelter issues for
its citizens, as well as the cleanup of rubble on the some 53
inhabited islands. On January 12, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the
Government Spokesman, told poloff that the government had
determined some of the devastated islands would not be
re-inhabited and was working on identifying new land areas
for those communities. At present, approximately four
islands are under consideration for abandonment.


8. (U) Hard times for Maldives: The Government Spokesman
also told poloff that occupancy throughout Maldives' resorts
was only 28 percent. (In the aftermath of the tsunami, which
damaged resort islands as well, the GORM estimated it had
approximately 60 percent of its rooms operational.) The
decrease in visitors was having a ripple effect on local
citizens, according to Shaheed. The Maldivians who normally
supply fish and produce to the resorts were finding a
decreased demand -- leading to decreased income -- for their
goods.


9. (C) U.S. assistance: The U.S. military, in conjunction
with British and French counterparts, has developed a
detailed plan for assistance to Maldives. Two U.S. military
ships scheduled to arrive off the coast of Sri Lanka January
12 may be re-directed to support operations -- such as water
purification efforts -- in Maldives. Military personnel are
planning to depart shortly for Maldives to coordinate
operations from Male' and supplement USAID personnel already
on the ground.

LUNSTEAD