Kilinochchi rises from the rubble

By Shanika Sriyananda

Although some local political parties view the presence of the Sri Lanka Army in the North as militarisation, the people of Kilinochchi are aware of the genuine support the soldiers give to rebuild Kilinochchi, which has risen from rubble, Security Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Udaya Perera said.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, he explained the present security situation and the role of the military in rebuilding the district and the Army’s support in securing the future of the children of Kilinochchi.

“ I have asked parents who are unable to send children to school because they don’t have stationary or school bags to come to my headquaters and contact me or my officers in any of the camps and We are there to help these children”, he said.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

Q: In comparison how do you explain what Kilinochchi is now and how it was then?

A: Kilinochchi, was the hub of the LTTE with its main communication centre and administrative capital banks, post office, police headquarters and courts being located there. Basically, Kilinochchi was well-defended and protected by the LTTE.

The liberation of Kilinochchi, was one of the most difficult battles that the Army won in the Eelam IV war against terrorism. It was the most intensive battle. The LTTE was determined to defend Kilinochchi and fought to the last cadre because they knew the fall of Kilinochchi would be their doom. We knew that the fall of Kilinochchi would be a victory for us and it was an intense battle.

It was in Kilinochchi where a fierce battle was fought using heavy machinery and it was virtually destroyed. Over 112,000 people belonging to 33,000 families in Kilinochchi were displaced and the Army took over a ghost city with only rubble, as the LTTE had herded everyone further north. Terrorists had destroyed almost all the buildings before the Army entered .

Kilinochchi is being built once again with hard work, dedication and commitment by the Army and other government departments. Even the people of Kilinochchi, have not seen Kilinochchi as it is today. I call it the new Kilinochchi with a sense of normalcy.

Q: It is not easy to change the mindset of the people about the government and the military, which the people saw as their enemies as they were brainwashed by the LTTE for decades. How did you face this challenge?

A: Yes, some people in the North may see the soldiers as enemies since they were brainwashed. Transforming their mindset is by winning them over. We were able to separate civilians from the LTTE at the start.

These people saw the Army as enemies since they were misled and brainwashed. It was a challenge for the Army to change this mindset. The first thing we identified was how people regarded the LTTE as a ruthless group and they didn’t have any regard from the people.

In transforming this image, We should not be seen as an alternative to the LTTE. We introduced a change in every activity that the Army was involved. Starting from a change in patrolling, uniforms and the way soldiers speak and help them.

We started from scratch. It began with the uniforms. We introduced uniforms worn in peace times. Earlier People have saw soldiers in combat uniform in these areas. We re-introduced a civilian-friendly uniform.

We also changed our approach and soldiers greeted villagers with ‘Vannakkam’. I have instructed soldiers to be courteous and speak to everyone whom they meet.

This has been fruitful even in strengthening security in Kilinochchi. When people are friendly with the Army, they give information about on any illegal activity taking place in their areas. Now it is a civilian-friendly Army that they meet.

Q: The Army helps to rebuild the nation while assisting people in their day-to-day lives. How effective is this concept in Kilinochchi to win over the people, who were under the control of the LTTE?

A: If you take the Army as a force, we have a huge capacity and capability. In a post-conflict scenario, we should not take the lead as we are in a supportive role. To use our ability we work closely with other government organisations. In this development process launched under the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the government sector is working towards one goal – development.

The Government Agent has taken the lead in the development process and with our capacity and capability, the Army helps in a tremendous way. The Sri Lanka Army is a citizen’s Army, which has a tremendous role to play during the post-conflict era. We are now engrossed in this endeavour. Due to our footprint and large capacity, wherever we go, we are seen on ground as a large force. While playing a supportive role in rebuilding the nation in post-conflict Sri Lanka, the soldiers assist in every project and coordinate with other civilian agencies to fulfill the vision of the President.

Q: Education is the vital sector that parents in the North are aspiring for. How does the Army help to upgrade education standards among these children, who were deprived of education due to the prolonged war on terrorism?

A: Yes, it is one of the main areas that the Army is heavily involved in. We are aware that education brings many changes in to their lives as well as their thinking.

My focus for Kilinochchi is education. It is the main tool to empower the younger generation to have a secure future. To achieve this, we do many supporting activities in the education sector. We also need to develop leadership qualities in school children. To improve leadership qualities, we have a project to introduce cadetting and scouting The Army is involved in developing facilities in information technology in these schools, which will get school libraries and computer laboratories. The Commercial Bank helped to develop the computer laboratory at the Kilinochchi Central College and over 20 schools have computer laboratories now.

We also help to set up libraries to enhance the children’s general knowledge and also improve the reading habit. Over 45 schools now have libraries and we want to set up libraries in all schools in Kilinochchi. Apart from providing all these facilities, the most important thing is to help these children to continue their education. The Army has introduced a scholarship program titled ‘Harmony scholarship scheme’, recently.

We have provided scholarships for over 1,500 children under this project. There are 33,334 school children including 904 Advanced Level students and 1,200 children who are doing Ordinary Level examinations this year. Our aim is to give scholarships to these children first.

This is a unique project as it was started from the contribution by the soldiers, who sponsored children from their monthly salaries. Under this project a soldier becomes a foster parent of a child in Kilinochchi to support the child to continue his education.

Out of 1,554 scholarships, 550 are from the soldiers. The Governor of the Northern Province gave Rs. 5 million, another Rs. 2.5 million from MAS Holdings and Ricky Wijeratne who is in London donated Rs. 2 million for the scholarship project..

The importance of this project is we linked a family in the North with the South and we also link Southern schools with Northern schools. Another aim of this project is to inculcate the saving habit among school children, which is vital for them to continue their education. I have also asked parents who are unable to send their children to school if they don’t have stationary or school bags come to my Headquarters and contact me or my officers in any of the camps and they are always there to help children. Even if they are hungry they can just come to us or to the nearest Army camp, we will look after them well. I always tell these children that Army mamas (Children refer to soldiers) will be there for you when you are hungry or when you need some one to talk or play’.

Q:But, these good deeds are always misinterpreted as ‘militarisation’. What is your comment about this allegation ?

A: This was the perception not only among the people of Kilinochchi or the North or East but the perception of certain local politicians, whose political career mainly relies on such slogans. But the reality is different.

As I explained earlier, our footprint is clear due to our capability. This has been misinterpreted as militarisation. It is the westerners and local politicians who are against development who talk of militarisation.

There are some political parties who don’t want to see development being carried out because they will run out of promises to the people. When the roads are good, they can’t give a pledge to the people about good roads and when the villages are electrified, they can’t promise those villages get connected to the national grid. Otherwise villagers and educated people like doctors, engineers and teachers know the difference between the work we do and militarisation.

There were over 200 army camps in Kilinochchi and now it is reduced to a handful of camps. When I began reducing our foot print on the ground the first complaint came from the poor asking us about security, food, medicine and transport in the event the soldiers leave the village. This is why Opposition parties are angry and are making misleading statements.

In Kilinochchi, the Army doesn’t occupy any land belonging to the people. We have set up camps only on state land or one-time LTTE land.

Q: Is there any truth about recruiting Tamil girls to the Army without the consent of their parents?

A: This is false. I would like to explain how this rumour arose. After I assumed duties, I thought of giving more responsibility to women soldiers in the 6th Women’s Corp as there are many widows and young girls who need support.

The women soldiers who were only doing office work were given more projects to empower women in the Kilinochchi district, in which the living standard was low. My girls launched vocational training, gardening and beauty culture projects and taught them hygiene and sanitation, improving there leadership qualities.

At first there was a poor response, but it improved. I am happy to say ‘my girls’ have won the confidence of these women who ignored them at the beginning. Through these projects – home gardening, horticulture, bees honey project, ornamental fish and growing fruits – women in Kilinochchi began earning. When their income grew, the bond between these women and soldiers also grew. The most popular project was beauty culture and attracted a large number of young girls and young widows.

With the popularity of women soldiers in the villages due to the work in the villages, I got several requests from young Tamil girls to join the Army. After a series of consultations with the Defence Secretary and Army Commander, we recruited them.

Over 500 girls came for the first interview and after a lengthy three-month selection process, including medical tests, 115 girls were selected, but only 109 girls reported for training. After a three-month training, 95 girls passed out as women soldiers.

During the selection process, these girls had the opportunity to decide their future with the Army.

During the training nine girls dropped out. This is a small number compared to the dropout rate in the South. There is no question of forceful recruitment and they are engaged in their duties while following several courses – Sinhala and English Language courses, computer and leadership programs.

Local politicians allege that this was a disadvantage when Tamil girls do well and draw a salary of more than Rs. 35,000 with perks on par with Sinhala women soldiers.

They are jealous of these Tamil girls being popular among their communities.

When parents and other family members are looked after by the Army, politicians, run out of slogans for political survival. They don’t welcome these projects which lead to reconciliation among communities and spread rumours to disrupt the unity among people.

When they levelled this allegation I challenged them to come up with a package of Rs. 50,000 for these girls, but no one came forward.

After their passing out, 45 girls went home on their own motorcycle, which they obtained through a soft loan of Rs. 200,000 granted by the Commercial Bank. Imagine these girls who didn’t have anything to eat were ongoing home with a motorcycle after three-months of training in the Army!

Earlier, they were very backward and were suspicious about everything. Their appearance now speaks volumes about their achievement.

They are smart women soldiers and engage in civil affairs in their villages. Their story is the transformation of humble village girls to professional soldiers.

Q: Thousands of ex-LTTE combatants are back in their villages and how do they get involved in the development process?

A: The word ex-combatant is not used anymore. Now they are known as beneficiaries. They are engaged in different development projects and are taking leadership roles in some of these projects in their villages.

Some of the girls are in the Army. The majority of them are recruited into the Civil Security Department (CSD) which was set up with the blessings of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Those who are in the CSD projects, are doing well and happy as they are given an awareness training about farming, banking, vocational training and handicraft.

They are integrated into society, but their own people still view them with suspicion. Even if there is a minor theft, sometimes villages point accusing fingers at them. Another view is that people they get more benefit as the Army looks after these beneficiaries and have a rapport with them. Villagers think that they got special treatment from the LTTE and now from the Army was affording them special treatment.

Q: But does the Army have any program to educate these villagers to welcome the former LTTE cadres?

A: Yes, we have, but we don’t do it openly. We involve them sports and other projects in their villages. By being involved in these events, we try to ease the past scar and give them the opportunity to prove themselves. Some of the boys and girls have proved that that they are good leaders.

Q: Are you satisfied with the contribution made by the Tamil diaspora to develop Kilinochchi?

A: It is a ‘yes’ and a ‘no’. Some genuinely want to be a part of development and some throw allegations to tarnish what we do. Those who are against the country and the Government are those who have not come to the North and who have not seen the ground realities.

Local political parties twist the information about the peaceful environment in Kilinochchi. They want the world to see Kilinochchi as a dangerous spot. Our reaction is to tell the truth about Kilinochchi.If they genuinely want to engage in the development process, there is room for that. I am happy to say that there are some Tamils expatriates silently helping the people.But, those who have ulterior motives support the LTTE’s rumps international network to promote its ideology.

Q: With development, people in the country want to have a look at the remnants of the war on terrorism in Kilinochchi. Will these sites be permanently there to show the gravity of the LTTE’s destruction?

A: No. I have launched a campaign to erase the scars. Every soldier is involved in it and wherever we see a scar we try to erase it. We have a dual approach and projects to carry this out.Erasing the mental scars is done by Harmony Centres through religious, cultural and sports activities. Erasing physical scars is through the development process and we have been successful. The huge water tank destroyed by the LTTE should remain as a symbol of the LTTE’s destructive past. The destructive LTTE should not be forgotten.

Q: With rapid development and infrastructure facilities, how do you see Kilinochchi in a few years?

A: I dream of another Washington DC or New York. It may sound like a joke, but it is possible. If the present speed of development continues, in a few years it wouldn’t be an impossible task. Under the guidance of the President, a huge amount of money has been pumped to develop every nook and corner of Kilinochchi. During the past four years, over Rs. 1.6 million per family has been pumped in for infrastructure development in Kilinochchi.

The people of Kilinochchi need to be a part of this mission and need to defeat forces with ulterior motives which propagate the LTTE ideology and divide the unity among the Kilinochchi people.