Fully furnished houses for the homeless:

Army wins hearts in North

by S. Thillainathan

Soon after the war on terrorism ended the army commenced its humanitarian operation of rescuing two hundred and ninety three thousand (293,000) people and gave them food, shelter and protection for several months. Finally, a majority of them were able to settle down in their hometowns.

Maj. Gen. Udaya Perera

Major Shyamin Perera, officer-in-charge of the women soldiers

Fully-furnished houses to be donated to women soldiers who have no permanent dwellings

Major General Udaya Perera, Security Forces Commander, Kilinochchi speaks to the women soldiers recruited from the Kilinochchi area

During the rescue operation around 12,000 ex-LTTE cadres either surrendered or were arrested by the security forces. All of them are now rehabilitated, and we do not use the term LTTE cadres any more because they are fully rehabilitated.

These remarks were made by Major General Udaya Perera, the Security Forces Commander, Kilinochchi in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer.

Soon after the war on terrorism ended around three hundred thousand people who came to the army controlled area needed to be cared for and treated kindly. Due to the trauma they underwent at the hands of the LTTE a majority of them were depressed and needed some form of rehabilitation and counselling. The army and the security forces performed an admirable task in handling this humanitarian problem, he said.

Major General Perera said, the army and the security forces were able to win over the displaced people because they disliked the LTTE and the TNA. This is due to the TNA taking a confrontational stand which could be an obstacle for peace and reconciliation. The people of the North want peace and a peaceful life. Therefore, they fully cooperated with the forces.

He said when the army wished to recruit female soldiers from the Kilinochchi district the young girls in the area, disregarding and rejecting the false propaganda and obstacles put forward by the TNA enthusiastically applied for jobs. We received over five hundred applications from them. The Major General said they are proud because they were able to select around one hundred female soldiers from Kilinochchi which was badly devastated by the war.

These girls are recruited to the volunteer force. If they are willing they can work for the next fifteen years for the army. They are being paid Rs. 32,000 per month and in addition they will be given 18,000 rupees worth food, shelter and uniforms including medical facilities, he said.

He said, since the majority of the female recruits are from poverty stricken families they do not even have a house to live in. Therefore, the army built 20 houses at a cost of Rs. 500,000. The whole construction work was handled by Army personnel. Now these houses are valued at Rs. one million. The houses will be handed over to 20 female army recruits within the next few weeks.

The female soldiers come under Major Shyamin Perera. She said the female soldiers will be initially engaged in civilian work such as the eradication of Dengue and the spread of infectious diseases. They will also be involved in foster care, clerical duties and handling of computers.

Major General Perera said, the army has introduced a scholarship for the children from poor families. The scholarship scheme begins from Grade five to the University entrance class. The yearly scholarship ranges from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 10,000. They are paid from funds collected from army personnel on a voluntary basis.