Army to begin another deserter de-listing campaign

BY RANIL Wijayapala

THE Army, after a comparatively unsatisfactory drive to de-list army deserters numbering 80,661 deserters, is to launch another ambitious drive to de-list the balance 70,369 deserters from next month, Adjutant General of the Sri Lanka Army Major General Ranjith Silva said yesterday.

The de-listing of deserters will take place again at Panagoda, Malay Street and Boyagane Army camps from May 9 at different dates enabling deserters who missed their chances at the previous occasion to get their clearance certificates from the Army.

Addressing a press conference along with Military Spokesman Brigadier Daya Ratnayake at the Army Headquarters, Major General Silva said only 10,292 deserters were de-listed during the first round of the program from October 10, 2003 to February 25, 2005 at different places.

"However, the campaign did not reach its goals due to various factors," Brigadier Ratnayake added.

The Army has made arrangements to educate the people about the procedure of de-listing deserters.

According to the program soldiers included in the deserters list by January 8, 2003 will be given a chance to obtain a clearance certificate from the Army to continue their livelihood as normal citizens of the country, Major General Silva added.

The deserters from 23 Regiments of the Sri Lanka Army will be given a chance to obtain their clearance certificates from Army camps in Panagoda, Malay Street, Colombo and Boyagane, Kurunegala after submitting documents.

The Army will notify the deserters who are qualified to obtain their clearance certificates.

Brigadier Ratnayake said there was a 70 per cent drop in the desertion rate of the Army during the ceasefire owing to the peaceful environment.

The enhanced training for recruits, job training programs, enhanced welfare programs and the recruitment of correct people to the Army has contributed to this development, he added.