Soldier-civilian bond at all time high:

Resettlement over by next month - Wanni Major Gen.

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

“Sri Lanka is the only country which annihilated three-decade long terrorism resettled people, rehabilitated ex-terrorists, developed the areas destroyed by terrorists and put the administrative structure back to normal within three-years”, said Security Forces Commander Wanni Major General Sumedha Perera. He said the remaining two percent of displaced people in welfare centres would be resettled before the end of September as the balance two percent of de-mining would be concluded in mid September.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer at the SF Headquarters, Vavuniya he said one of the biggest achievements during the past three-years was that the Army had been able to repair the ‘soldier - civilian bond’.

“When something happens, people expect the Army to get involved as they have a good understanding and trust the soldiers. They feel safe when the Army is around”, he said.

Maj. Gen. Perera said people were aware that when the Army gets involved there was fairplay but unfortunately this is being interpreted as ‘militarisation’ by some elements.

The Army would never be discouraged by such comments and would do more for the people whom they rescued. “As soldiers we know we are walking on a very tight rope but we will continue to engage in nation building, as our priority is to help our people. It is our bounden duty”, he said.

Inviting the Tamil diaspora to help the Wanni people, the SF Commander said they could contribute in the rebuilding process in a big way.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

We have started demining immediately as it was the main barrier for resettlement. A major portion of the humanitarian de-mining is done by Army Engineer de-miners. Only a small portion is left to de-mine now. Out of the total contaminated area of 1,186 sqkm, only 34.18 sqkm is under de-mining. It is about two percent of the total area. Mullaitivu is given full concentration and over 1,000 army de-miners are engaged in de-mining with other NGOs at the moment.

We have completed de-mining in Sivanagar. De-mining of Puthukkudiyiruppu West and East, Malligaithivu, Manthuvil and Mullivaikkal West will be completed before the end of August but Ananthapuram where 110 families are to be resettled will be fully cleared for mines before end of September. As de-mining of some of the areas in Ampalavanpokkanai has been completed, some families were resettled but in some areas still de-mining is progressing. Resettlement is progressing but was delayed as we encountered unexpected issues. Heavily mined new areas were found which were not marked during the technical and non-technical surveys.

We found that there were more mine fields than we expected. Resettling people in these areas was risky and we want to maintain the same standard that we achieved throughout the de-mining process. We have de-mined following international guidelines. There were no casualties reported in the areas that were cleared by the Army and other agencies. The casualty rate is zero. Only a few incidents were reported and were mainly due to negligence.

We are confident that the entire displaced people in the remaining welfare centres can be resettled before the end of September. They have been briefed about the situation and the causes for the delay in resettling them. They could be easily given land elsewhere, but the Government wants to give them back their own lands. They are happy and they are aware of the situation. Army camps had to be shifted to accommodate people. Though some politicians are misleading the people saying that the Army is occupying their land, most of these lands have been given back to the original owners.

De-mining

The Government took speedy action to resettle over 265,000 displaced people within three-years and there is no reason to keep the remaining 5,000 in welfare centres. This is purely due to the delay in de-mining and not because of the Army occupying their land.

Over 98 percent of the displaced people are resettled and except these welfare centres - Kadiragamar, Zone 1 and 2 – the rest are closed as people are resettled.

Soon after the completion of the humanitarian operation, some ex-LTTEers surrendered and others came to the Army control mingling with civilians. The Army had to separate them from the civilians. Security forces under the instruction of the Defence Ministry also instructed them to surrender. As a result, over 6000 surrendered to the security forces and another 5,000 apprehended by the info given by the civilians. At the end, a total of 11,664 ex-LTTE cadres surrendered.

There were two reception centres – killinochchi and Omanthai for them to surrender and there were 600 child soldiers among them. All those who sought Government protection, were housed in 19 rehabilitation centres in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Welikanda.

Success story

It is a success story of rehabilitation of ex-cadres. Except 635, all other ex-LTTEers have been reintegrated into society after undergoing a one-year rehabilitation process. Out of 19 rehabilitation centres, only four centres in Maradamadu, Poonthontam, Welikkanda and Kandakadu are functioning now.

They are trained in various fields including vocational training and also in languages – English and Sinhala. The first batch of ex-LTTE cadres released, in January 2010, were child soldiers. Those who missed their education were given the opportunity at Hindu College Colombo. Most of the ex-LTTEers lost their limbs and we have provided them with artificial limbs. With the help of India, a temporary factory to provide artificial limbs was set up. Those who are released are doing well in society and aspiring for a brighter and peaceful future.

Soldiers in the Wanni region got involved in helping them in a big way. They have built over 1,182 new houses and renovated nearly 1,600 houses during the last three years. We have not taken a cent from anyone and the money is solely from the Army.

We used our resources and the raw material is from the respective areas. The soldiers helped to renovate 82 school buildings with the help of donors and the UN agencies and over 31,971 students were benefitted. In good old days the soldiers were only the good fighters but now we are better professionals in other fields and contributing hard towards the nation building performing the role of a peace time Army.Army engineers are engaged in a commendable role and are responsible for repairing most of the roads and bridges which were destroyed by terrorists.

Donors are engaged in a silent service in rebuilding the Wanni. Ven. Yatirawana Wimalaratne Thera and Anura Perera from the US who donated Rs. 70.5 million to construct 50 houses in a Tamil village Periyakulam. He also donated 500 push cycles, which is the popular mode of transport among schoolchildren.The Thera has no concerns of caste and creed in his contribution to help people. He gave Rs. one million to rebuild the Sinhala School in Madhu which was destroyed by terrorists and another Rs. one million to renovate the school building of the Nirmala Maria Convernt in Madhu.The Army assisted in cleaning canals, to restore livelihood activities. They cleaned the Karukkankalli tank which supplies water to agri lands.

All religious places including the Madhu Church was renovated by the Army. While helping people to start livelihood activities, the Army looks after the health of these people by holding health camps including eye clinics.The children of Wanni have not seen the outside world and the Army organises pilgrimages to bring schoolchildren to the South to help them to enjoy and interact with the people of the South.

Sarvodaya has donated sports gear and equipment worth Rs. 2.5 million for the schoolchildren in Mannar. Several workshops to enhance leadership qualities among schoolchildren were held. Former Cricket Captain Mahela Jayawardene donated 100 push bycycles to schoolchildren and also held field workshops for young cricketers in Vavuniya. It is very commendable that many soldiers donate blood in blood donation campaigns organised in government hospitals. The war against LTTE terrorists is over but the ‘war’ to rebuild the Wanni and helping people to stand on their own feet is not over still. But within the last three-years we have achieved a lot.

At the moment there are two priorities – one is resettling the remaining displaced people and the second is to conclude rehabilitation of ex-cadres to reintegrate them into society.

We identified that certain ex-LTTEers were not included in the rehabilitation process and we are in the process of getting them back to give them in vocational training and to facilitate them to live as free citizens.Those who are back with their families after the completion of the rehabilitation process are doing well. As it is a security requirement we keep a vigil on everyone as there are some forces who are still trying to mislead them.

Once these rehabilitated ex-LTTE cadres are reunited with their families no security personnel will visit their houses, but we have a rapport with them.

They are friendly with the soldiers and seek help from them. At the same time the Army is trying its best to find these people employment.The Government has given priority to develop the Wanni. People of the Wanni and the ex-cadres are given priority in giving employment in these development projects.

Some factories are coming up in the Wanni and they will be given employment in those. Meanwhile, Bank loans with low interest rates are given to those people who want to start their own businesses. Finding employment is a challenge as most of them are uneducated and unskilled as they were prevented from studying and following vocational training. During the training period in the rehabilitation centres, they are trained in different vocations as plumbers, masons, carpenters and electricians. They are awarded certificates which are recognized worldwide.

Livelihood restoration is helped by the Presidential Task Force and the Army assists them. It is a widespread network and we convince donors to invest in the Wanni.

Expatriates

For the last six to seven months, a large number of expatriates have visited the Wanni. Every month over 3,000 Tamil diaspora visited the Wanni. They have money and some are settled in other countries. Some are keen to help their own people, but it is sad to say the contribution from the Tamil diaspora is still not significant. We believe that they can contribute in a big way. However, it is taking place slowly but we expect them to be a part in this development process. The Government and the security forces are doing their best, now every thing back on track within three-years. We have done enormous work during this short period and I believe that there is no other country where normalcy has been achieved at this speed. The soldier – civilian bond is at its best now.

The Army has appointed civil affairs officers to strengthen rapport with civilians. One good example was there was a distribution of 10,000 push bicycles. Civil authorities were given the task of selecting beneficiaries.

The list was sent to Colombo, but it was found that those who had other modes of transport were listed as beneficiaries. Over 30 percent of the list had to be amended. The Army was then called to prepare the list. We had information about the beneficiaries and did the distribution well.People are aware that when the Army gets involved, there is fair play but unfortunately this is interpreted as ‘militarization’ by some elements. The people are aware of the soldiers’ contribution. The Army knows the pulse of these people. We are very close to them and we live with them.The Army will never be discouraged by such comments and will assist the people who were rescued by them. As soldiers we know we are walking on a tight rope, but at the same time we will continue to be engage in nation building as our priority is to help our people. It is our bounden duty”, he said.