Former LTTE cadres’ rehabilitation in last stage

The rehabilitation process of former members of the LTTE has now reached its last stage, officials said yesterday.

“The process is in its last stage. We have 3,512 of them undergoing rehabilitation in eight centres.

By the end of June or early July we will be releasing a further 600 of them,” Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, told PTI.

The Government handles the programme backed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Several donors have contributed to the ex-combatants rehabilitation programme.

Over 6,000 of them have been already reintegrated into the society, rehabilitation officials said.

The ex-child soldiers of LTTE have been released to their parents after rehabilitating them.

Former LTTE cadres were provided with vocational training while schoolchildren were facilitated to complete their secondary education. In the last university entrance examination held in August last year, some 500 rehabilitated LTTE cadres sat for the examination, officials said.

The former cadres are also given loan facilities for self employment at concessionary interest rates. This enables them to make use of the vocational training provided to them under the rehabilitation process, officials added.