Sri Lanka to reintegrate former LTTE cadres into civil society soon

The Sri Lankan government says it plans to reintegrate the former Tamil Tiger rebels, who are undergoing rehabilitation in government rehabilitation camps, into the society very soon.

Sri Lanka's Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara says that around 5,500 former combatants have been integrated into the normal civilian life after giving them various types of vocational training and in some cases school education during their detention in rehabilitation centers.

The combatants released so far have been given vocational training at 12 rehabilitation centers in the North to prepare them to earn a living.

Nearly 6200 ex-LTTE cadres are remaining in these centers undergoing rehabilitation and the government is planning to introduce them to the society in batches, Minister Gunasekara has said.

During the final stages of war last year overt 11,000 LTTE cadres surrendered to the security forces. Many of them abandoned the rebel outfit and surrendered to the government forces at the height of the war.

Among the LTTE cadres surrendered to the security forces during the final stages of the war with the rebels, the military had identified 11,800 ex-LTTE cadres for rehabilitation from the IDP camps.

The government launched a programme to rehabilitate the former cadres so they have better prospects for their future.

According to the Minister, the detained LTTE cadres included mainly fighters in the battlefield but there were drivers, cooks and other aides of the rebel outfit as well among the detainees. A ten percent of the former combatants are child soldiers who have never received any education, the Minister added.

The Minister has said that nearly 70 percent haven't received any education beyond the 8th grade and some of the cadres are now receiving formal education. Some LTTE cadres have sat for the GCE Ordinary Level Examination recently, the Minister has said.

The one-year rehabilitation program provides vocational training to the former rebels in areas such as information technology, sewing, plumbing, electric work, carpentry, mason work, welding, metal work, etc. with the expectation that they can earn a living once they are integrated into the society.

In September the government organized a special job fair in Vavuniya for the former LTTE cadres who completed their rehabilitation and vocational training. Over 25 private sector organizations from various fields such as garments and construction participated in the job fair.