Minister plans rehab programs for ex-LTTE cadres

P. Krishnaswamy

With the total defeat of the LTTE now become imminent, their rank and file who surrender to our forces or get captured as Prisoners of War (PoW) will be integrated into the normal society and rehabilitated during the post conflict phase, said Disaster Relief and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe. Speaking to the `Sunday Observer', he said that in the case of LTTE leaders who had caused immense sufferings to the people and are responsible for the deaths of several high profile figures in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, including death of former Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi, will be tried under the laws of the country.

A bulk of the civilian population forcibly held by the LTTE in the No Fire Zone (NFZ) in Mullaitivu have already arrived in Vavuniya and Omanthai and they were being well looked after with provision of food, medicines and other usual assistance.

These IDPs would be resettled in their own villages after the villages were made safe and the necessary infrastructure and services restored, the Minister said.

Through various atrocious acts the LTTE had forcibly prevented the civilians from escaping to government controlled areas during the 48 hour pause offered by the government and this, perhaps, had given them more resolve to escape in their thousands, he said.

The UN and the international community has now come to realise what the LTTE is all about and there was a better understanding now between the Government of Sri Lanka and them, he stated.

The government was fully committed to ensuring that the displaced civilians went back to their own villages soon and lived a life like their brothers and sisters in the South.

The UN and the international community have a role to play in the post conflict phase and the government was open all assistance from them in the rehabilitation and resettlement process in respect of the IDPs.

The Government would like to work with its bilateral friends and the UN to put in place an accelerated development programme so that the displaced people will have better infrastructure, better economic services and better social services."

They have very clearly told that they would continue to assist us in our endeavours to give to all these people a better future in time to come", the Minister stated. The government was hopeful of getting more assistance from the UN, bilateral friends, INGOs and NGOs for sustainable rehabilitation and resettlement of the displaced people in their own villages.

Denying news reports that the UN has given a time frame for resettling the people, the Minister said that the UN had only requested that the resettlement has to be in line with international standards to which the government can conform.