With just one more ex-LTTE member left to be released in June after having completed the rehabilitation programme at Poonthottam in the Vavuniya district under the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, the process of rehabilitating ex-LTTE members during the past 10 years, since the end of the war, is almost complete.
Speaking to the Daily News the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Maj. Gen. Janake Ratnayake noted that to date, around 12,191 ex-LTTE combatants have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into society through this programme.
The ex-LTTE members who underwent this rehabilitation process received vocational training in several courses including plumbing, carpentry, IT, house wiring, masonry, aluminum fabrication and welding.
During the one year of rehabilitation, the participants are also introduced to meditation, aesthetics and drama therapy, spiritual development, sports, leadership and personal development training, language training (Sinhala, Tamil and English), and counselling and mentorship, among others.
“Initially we got around 10,000 male, female and child soldiers who had surrendered to the Security Forces and immediately we started the rehabilitation programme. Others who were subsequently arrested were sent for rehabilitation later. Of those who joined us initially in 2009, by around 2010, we had completed their rehabilitation and reintegrated them into society. Thereafter, the others who were placed for rehabilitation by the courts underwent the rehabilitation programme. The highest number of those rehabilitated and reintegrated into society were those from the Killinochchi district,” said Gen. Ratnayake.
Meanwhile, just one each from Anuradhapura, Kegalle, Moneragala and Ratnapura also underwent the rehabilitation programme and have been reintegrated into society.
In addition, a further 529 ex-combatants including 447 males and 83 females from the Trincomalee district, 83 from Ampara including 73 males and 10 females, 476 from Batticaloa district, including 415 males and 61 females, 11 males from Polonnaruwa, five males from Badulla, nine males from Colombo, two males from Galle, nine from Gampaha including eight males and one female, five from Kandy including four males and one female, two each from Kurunegala and Matale, 14 from Nuwara Eliya, four from Puttalam and 44 others who have no specific hometown were among those rehabilitated and reintegrated among the total 12,191. In total, among those rehabilitated were 9,878 males and 2,269 females.
According to the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Maj. Gen. Janake Ratnayake, around 500 child soldiers were among those who had surrendered at the end of the war. However, these child soldiers were not put through the rehabilitation programme and instead were given catch-up education. “We felt that it was better to put them through a learning programme instead of sending them for rehabilitation. Hence, we gave them a chance to learn languages, while those who could not sit for their O/L and A/L exams were given the opportunity to complete their studies.
Among the programmes offered to child soldiers were educational rehabilitation focusing on the development of their educational standard and critical thinking development to better face the challenges of society. The following opportunities were made available: (1) formal education for children (classes for GCE O/L and GCE A/L examinations); (2) catch-up education for adults (classes for GCE O/L and GCE A/L examinations); (3) re-university admission for those who were left out; (4) educational scholarships to facilitate higher studies; (5) computer-aided drafting (CAD) and 3D drafting; (6) language training (Sinhala and English); (7) typing and shorthand; and (8) pre-reintegration mentorship programme.
Since 2002, nearly 7,000 children were recruited as child soldiers by the LTTE. At the end of the conflict in May 2009, a total of 594 children aged between 12 and 18 surrendered to the Armed Forces.
According to UNICEF data, there were 6,183 cases of child recruitment by the LTTE in five years after the February 2002 CFA. Of this, 3,732 were boys and 2,451 were girls. Although these numbers appear high, these are still probably lower than the actual number of child soldiers.
The Commissioner General said the rehabilitation programme carried out was very successful and that none of the rehabilitated ex-LTTE members have got involved in any major anti-social or terrorist activity after being reintegrated. “Even in the incident where the two police constables were killed at a checkpoint, the rehabilitated person who was arrested was later released as it was proved that he had no involvement with the incident. The weapons of the police officers had been recovered during a raid involving the extremist Muslim group,” said Maj. Gen. Ratnayake.
The government had allocated Rs.100 million for the Rehabilitation Bureau for rehabilitation in 2017, while Rs. 50 million was allocated for 2018. In addition, Rs. 250 million was allocated to the Bureau of Rehabilitation as an extra allocation for the payment of salaries of the rehabilitants.
“The rehabilitants who have been integrated into society will be paid an additional Rs. 10,000 by the government when employment is found for them in addition to the allowance paid during employment training,” said Deputy Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier Liyanage.
He further noted that Rs.35 million worth of equipment, including water motors, bicycles, fishing nets and other equipment to supplement their livelihood will be distributed among those reintegrated into society.
However, the Commissioner General stated that what is being done up to date for the ex-LTTE members is at a micro level, adding that as even their own societies are reluctant to accept them into their communities, the government needs to start some sort of industry-level programme to provide employment for these rehabilitants. “There are a lot of things that we ought to do in the North and East especially and what we have done so far is building roads and infrastructure. But there is a lot more that we need to do to ensure these people are able to get on their own feet and survive.”
There is a lot more development that needs to be done such as the development of harbours, he said.
In the post-rehabilitation phase, the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation has spent around Rs. 110,442,018 for the provision of equipment for the rehabilitees to begin their lives and engage in self-employment after being reintegrated into society. Further assistance has been given to the rehabilitated ex-combatants through the relevant district secretariats.
For self-employment, Rs. 12,982,262 had been paid out in 2018 with Jaffna being allocated Rs. 7,650,726, Killinochchi Rs. 1,000,000, Mullaithivu Rs. 900,000, Mannar Rs. 599,956. Vavuniya Rs. 2,131,580 and Trincomalee allocated Rs. 700,000.
For the provision of agricultural equipment of Rs. 7,067,838 had been allocated, Rs. 6,850,000 allocated for the provision of livestock for the reintegrated persons to carry on their livelihood and Rs. 899,900 allocated for the supply of fishing gear for them.
Twenty-four Protective Accommodation and Rehabilitation Centres were established at the initial stages at the end of the war in 2009 and made functional separately for children, females and males. In accordance with international norms, statements and letters of consent were obtained from the surrendee ex-combatants for follow-up of the rehabilitation programme.
Ten years down the line, the rehabilitation programme to reintegrate the ex combatants is no doubt a success story, thanks to the dedicated service rendered by all those who gave leadership to the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation and the military personnel and other professionals involved to make this programme a success.
Those who gave leadership to the BCGR were Suhada Gamlath – 2006 to 2009, Gen. Daya Ratnayake from 2009 to 2010, Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe from 2010-2011, Major General Chandana Rajaguru from 2011-2012, Major General Dharshana Hettiarrachchi from 2012-2013, late Major General Jagath Wijetilleke from 2013-2015, and Maj. Gen. Janake Ratnayake the current Commissioner General.
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