Northern youth rehabilitation program, a huge success

By Ranil Wijayapala

The end of nearly three-decades-long war in Sri Lanka with the completion of the humanitarian operation on May 19, 2009 opened a number of challenges to Sri Lanka. The development of the war-torn areas, resettlement of the displaced civilians, bringing back the law and order situation in the North East were among the big challenges the Government had to face after the completion of the humanitarian operation which completely defeated the LTTE terrorism in May 2009.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 'reuniting ceremony' of rehabilitated LTTE cadres to their families

Rehabilitated cadres who have been released

Youth exchange program

However, along with that challenging tasks the Government also had to take up another massive task of rehabilitating nearly 12,000 combatants who were either surrendered or arrested at the final phases of the humanitarian operation and also detected when screening the civilians who were lodged at welfare centres until they were resettled in their villages.

Today, almost four years after ending the humanitarian operation, the Government is facing all those challenges effectively by successfully accomplishing the development, resettlement and also rehabilitation processes parallel to each process while establishing law and order situation in the North to ensure sustainable peace. To get a clear view about the process of rehabilitation of ex-combatants and their reintegration into the society, one of the arduous tasks before the Government, the Sunday Observer interviewed Major General K.J. Wijetilleke presently the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

Question: At the end of the humanitarian operation we got information that nearly 12,000 ex-combatants were detained with the law enforcement authorities and they were directed towards rehabilitation. Can you explain the present position of the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants?

Answer: We got close to 12,000 ex-combatants who had voluntarily come in and surrendered to the Security Forces. During the past four years we have been able to rehabilitate them and I think 99 percent of them have already been rehabilitated and reintegrated to the society. As of today I have about 344 including 15 females. They are in the process of rehabilitating and a batch of 134 will be released in the month of September. With that, I feel almost all the ex-combatants have been rehabilitated unless there are cadres sent to us for rehabilitation by the Courts. That is a very minimal number. Even present 344 ex-combatant who are with us were sent sent to us by Courts. So we have only that much left with us. Whoever the cadres isolated cadres will be sent to use from the Courts to rehabilitation.

Q:How do you evaluate the progress of the reinsertion and reintegration of those ex-combatants?

A: During the process of rehabilitation we did counseling for those ex-combatants. It was a very systematic approach and process. Because we identified their strengths and their weaknesses. In the previous batch there were 594 child combatants. They have 100 percent reintegrated and very few are minors were among them at the time of completing their rehabilitation and other are over 18. They have been reintegrated into the society. Some of them have chosen higher studies, some have entered universities and some are involved in employment. Even otherwise the elders are also the same.

When reintegrating them to the society we very strictly follow the family unit concept. We ensure that after rehabilitation they are joining their kith and kin so that they are being resettled in their original habitats. At the same time we ensure that they get the livelihood assistance and also during the process of rehabilitation and even after the rehabilitation the Government is supporting them financially.

Q: What are the mechanisms put in place to assist these ex-combatants reintegrated to the society to restart their lives?

A: We are providing them soft loans for them to start self employment. So far I think over 50 percent loans have been released to these rehabilitated cadres. There are about 4,572 applications being processed to provide loans. The Government has allocated over Rs.500 million to release loans for the rehabilitated ex-combatants and that will be releases to them this year. There is a delay in releasing those loans as there is a procedure to be followed when releasing those loans. The Government Agent has to scrutinise them and there is a procedure that is being followed by the GA also. It is being done at the moment and then they will be sent to the Rehabilitation Authority under the Prisons Reforms and Rehabilitation. That authority will release the payment through a Bank. That is the process they follow. It is a very low interest loan and the loan interest is only four percent.

Q: What are the requirements they have to fulfill to obtain those loans?

A: We get them to identify a project to start their livelihood based on the skills they have obtained vocational training they underwent during the rehabilitation. We have sort of molded them to take up some employment. Then they goes into the society with some knowledge and skills. All these courses leads to a National Vocational Qualification certificate. Even for women there are certain courses such as beautician programs. The loan that the Government gives them is based on the project proposal they give which they intend to start once they are reintegrated. The money will be given to them to start that project. So it is a project of their own choice which they have decided to earn and income for their living.

Q: Another problem faced by these ex-combatants is the livelihood for their families whilst they are undergoing rehabilitation. How did you address this situation?

A: What we were trying to put across was to support their families and children whilst they are in the rehabilitation centers. That will ensure that they are not isolated and they are being looked after. They are being looked after by the Government agencies, they are being supported by the NGOs and INGOs. So their families are looked after well and these ex-combatants feel that their families are not neglected. That is the main purpose. We also ensure that their children go to better schools and get better education.

Q: How do you asses the progress of the ex-combatants who have already reintegrated to the society and how they are progressing with their lives?

A: If you really look at the employment rate I should say every person who have been rehabilitated and reintegrated actually earn a living. Either they are self employed, farmers or fishermen. Many of them are also working in the development sector infrastructure development projects, as labourers, machine operators, carpenters and all these trades as they have been provided with vocational training during their rehabilitation. We put them as very responsible citizen to the society so that there won't be a relapse in the future of the same kind in any of these areas. Therefore, only 12 percent of the reintegrated ex-combatants are unemployed at present and they are also working as labourers.

Q: Is there any mechanism to monitor their activities after they were reintegrated to the society?

A: We don't monitor them but we have a program called a follow up system. That is simply to ensure their socio economic standards are maintained in the society. Otherwise our one year effort is useless. This mechanism is totally a civilian set up and under the Government Agent. A unit has been established with the GAs. They go to these people and assess the improvements they have made in their jobs and in their life style. If they see a gap they will address that. They support them if somebody needs a loan. That is totally to ensure that these people make a progress in their lives. Otherwise there will be stagnation which we don't want to happen to see at the end.

Q: What are social issues they are facing once they are reintegrated?

A: If you really saw the situation in 2009 and the challenges we faced after the war in those areas and today if you can go and see to what extent those challenges have been addressed, you will find the answer to that. Why I say is that in 2009 we had nearly 300,000 IDPs and the Government had to spend one million US dollars a day to maintain Menik Farm welfare centres.

The areas were heavily mined and there was no economic development and the economy was stagnating there and had negative growth at that time in those areas. The fisheries which contributed 30 percent of the national production from Mullaitivu and Trincomalee areas and that was disrupted. The entire education system was disrupted. Now normalcy has returned and the dividends of peace is there now. Every sector is performing well there.

The resettled people are living in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts and that is the main base of those ex-combatants. Out of around 12,000 ex-combatants 2,883 are from Kilinochchi, 2,382 are from Mullaitivu and 3,145 are from Jaffna. These people have gone back to their villages. If you really take their disposition except for one or two isolated cases all of them are staying in their original habitats and they are also much comfortable with the Security Forces there. Police is there now. The challenges they faced in 2009 are no longer there now. Now the law and order is maintained and they can go to a police station and lodge a complaint regarding any issue. Judicial system is also re-established there and they have freedom of speech, freedom of movement and they have communication network now. Every sector has done its best and in that sense I think the social issues they are facing are now at minimal level as they are living in normal conditions unlike in the past.

Q: Have you ever got any complaint about any of these rehabilitated and reintegrated cadres engaged in criminal or violent activities?

A: Let me answer your question this way. Today basically in the areas where the final battle was going on, these ex-combatants are the people who gave us information on locations where the arms are hidden which cannot be used. On a daily basis we recovered mines, we recovered ammunition and weapons. They are the people who gave us the information. Now this bureau can be satisfied that their rehabilitation process had been effective to change these people mindset.

Q: There are reports to indicate that there is a refusal from the Tamil community to accept these rehabilitated ex-combatants back in the society. How do you tackle this situation?

A: That is another task of the follow up teams to update and educate senior citizen and community, the educated people irrespective of their cast creed about this situation that every ex-combatant has now come back to the society. Otherwise these ex-combatants will not be accepted within the community. So that is a great challenge that we face and so far things are flowing smoothly. For example, if I were a normal civilian and if you were an ex-combatant you have come and taken my brother or sister forcibly and my brother is dead, when you are coming back to the society there will be a dissent in my mind against you. I will be reluctant to accept you. When I see you I have an anger. That is human nature. But this is what we are addressing now.

That is what the religious leaders, even in their Sunday masses or at the religious ceremonies at the Kovil, are educating the people now. Those are the steps that are being taken to ensure that they live in harmony as one community.

Q: Whatever said and done these ex-combatants were from a terrorist organisation they also had some sort of political ideology. Do you see any trend among these rehabilitated cadres to enter into the mainstream politics?

A: If you take the East even now in most of the village there is a thing called Rural Development Society within the GN Division. Those are been headled by those ex-combatants and they have been accepted by the community. It will take a little time to heal this wound but they are being gradually accepted by the community. Our focus is also that they will reconcile well and they won't have any hatred. But you can't expect hundred percent patching up overnight. If we expect like that we are being too optimistic.

Q: How do you assess the overall progress of the reintegration process of the ex-combatants?

A: I won't show you a hundred percent rosy picture. But I can say that so far things are on the better side. There may be one or two isolated incidents. Even if you take in the South still there are communities clashing. But you don't get that in the North. Yes, there was a refusal when they came to the area immediately after the rehabilitation. The community was saying why are we supporting the ex-combatants. They are the people who fought with them. During the thirty years of war these people were in the jungle. Naturally they did not see the society and they did not see the people. They saw only animals and they heard only gunfire. So I think this much of success that we achieve could be seen anywhere in the world. That is the success story. If somebody is trying to say that there is no progress these facts are more than enough to prove whether it is a success story or not.

Q: What kind of feedback are you getting from the International organisations which may be monitoring the process of rehabilitation?

A: They have always talked positively about the development that has taken place from what I interact so far. Before I was appointed here I was in Mullaitivu. We had a team of Tamil diaspora visiting that district and when they came we just let them go to the field first and allowed them to observe what was happening there. Then only we had interaction with them. They came and told us that they don't know why the people in the world are pointing their finger at Sri Lanka as what they heard was not what was happening in the ground. They said they got a different picture. They said they didn't get the exact picture of this development before coming here and they could not believe because even the rehabilitated cadres were allowed to go to their families and come whenever possible. We allow their families to come and visit them when they are undergoing rehabilitation. So what they say is they never expect such development. However, the utterances of the international community may be due to their hidden agenda. If you say good about everything there is no news. So people need to come and see for themselves and judge for themselves what is exactly happening.

Q: What more to be done in this process?

A: We should understand that this country was in war for 30 years. Our economy was disturbed, the industrial sector was disturbed so we have to start from scratch. You can't expect more than this within four years period. This is much more than what you could see in about two decades but it has happened during the past four years. So we are far ahead of what we should be achieved and our end goals. I think the progress we have made so far is a very very outstanding progress when you look at the country as citizen. Those rehabilitated and reintegrated ex-combatants and even the Tamil community get electricity connection free of charge. You see the difference. That is the interest the leadership has shown towards those people, because these areas were disturbed due to war and these people were provided with all these facilities. Now they are getting things that have to be addressed even in the South. Therefore, we will be much progress in the near future.