Sri Lanka releases 1800 former Tamil Tiger combatants

Sri Lankan government on Friday released 1,800 former Tamil Tiger rebels who have undergone a two-year rehabilitation program following the end of the war in May 2009.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa handed over the rehabilitated former members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to their families today at a ceremony held at the Temple Trees with the participation of ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats and the family members .

The Rehabilitation and Prisons Reforms Ministry has made the arrangements to bring the former rebels to the Temple Trees and it was the first time such a large group of rehabilitated cadres were reintegrated into the society.
The rehabilitated cadres received certificates for their skills training from the U.S. Ambassador Patricia Butenis, Australian High Commissioner Kathy Klugman and the Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha. The former rebels staged a cultural show for the audience.

Addressing the ceremony President Rajapaksa said the released combatants were given training in vocational training to live in the society as useful citizens. The ex-combatants were provided training in masonry, carpentry, tailoring and agriculture.
President Rajapaksa said these former LTTE members were deprived of the opportunity to live as free citizens and added that measures are being taken to erase their dark past.
"We have made you a person worthwhile to society," the President said and added that peeple's lives should not be allowed to be destroyed to fulfill the needs of a small group.
The President told the gathering the villages in the North destroyed during the war are being rebuilt and he will work to develop the North same as the South. He is not prepared to treat the North any differently from the South, he said.
Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms, Chandrasiri Gajadeera said the rehabilitation programme was implemented according to the needs of the present day society.
During and immediately after the final phase of the war 11,700 LTTE cadres have surrendered to the government security forces.
Sri Lanka has allocated Rs.750 million for the rehabilitation process for this year. The government says it has spent Rs. 2.5 billion on the rehabilitation of ex-LTTE cadres since the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009.
Secretary of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Ministry, A. Dissanayake also participated in the ceremony.