Defence Secretary at ‘Towards Lasting Peace and Stability’ confab :

‘SL from a nation of war to amongst the most peaceful’

Sandasen MARASINGHE

Sri Lanka’s journey during the three years since the dawn of peace has seen the country transform itself from a nation at war to a country that is amongst the most peaceful, stable and secure in the world, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

“Sri Lanka today is one of the most peaceful and stable countries. It is a country in the midst of a national revival,” he said at the opening ceremony of the Defence Seminar 2012 titled ‘Towards Lasting Peace and Stability’.

The Defence Secretary said the government’s unwavering commitment and resolve to swiftly implement measures for Reconstruction, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Reconciliation laid the foundation for a prosperous future for the country’s citizens, irrespective of their diversity and differences. “I have every confidence that as we step forward into this brighter future, we will do so together as Sri Lankans. That is the greatest accolade that can be paid to the success of Sri Lanka’s post-conflict development; that will be our legacy to future generations,” Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said.

He said resettling nearly 300,000 internally displaced people in just three years is a very significant accomplishment.

“It would not have been possible without the professionalism and commitment of the military, which facilitated almost all the major undertakings involved,” he said. Apart from the IDPs, the government faced another major challenge with regard to rehabilitating the large numbers of LTTE cadres who surrendered or were detained during the course of the humanitarian operation. A total of 11,989 LTTE combatants surrendered to the military during the humanitarian operation, the Defence Secretary said. He said in all, 10,965 persons who have been rehabilitated, have been reintegrated to society as of now.

A total of 121 were released in 2009; 5,227 were reintegrated in 2010 and 5,027 were reintegrated last year. So far this year, 590 beneficiaries of the rehabilitation programme have been reintegrated to society, he said.

The Defence Secretary said only 636 beneficiaries still remain in rehabilitation, at four centres at Maramadu, Welikanda, Kandakadu and Poonthottam.

These rehabilitated persons are not yet ready to be reintegrated to society and require more time to recover from the LTTE’s indoctrination and regain full capability to lead normal lives, he said. “Most of these cadres who were beneficiaries of rehabilitation and reintegration were involved in attacks against Armed Forces personnel in the battlefield. Some may have also participated in atrocities against civilians. As a result, the normal response by the state would have been to keep them in detention and prosecute them. Indeed, this has been the practice in most post-conflict situations,” Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said. “However, the President had a very different view. Instead of prosecuting the majority of the cadres, he insisted that they be rehabilitated and reintegrated to society as fast as possible. He understood that these former cadres had been misled by the LTTE, and that they needed an opportunity to be guided onto the correct path. As a result of this vision, the vast majority of cadres were rehabilitated and released to society in just two years. That is a truly remarkable achievement,” he said.

“Nowhere else in the world have enemy combatants been treated with such generosity and rehabilitated at such speed. The sincere commitment of the President and the government of Sri Lanka to reconciliation can be gauged through this fact,” the Defence Secretary said.

“Further, it needs to be noted that many former militants are now playing an active role in politics.

Their participation in the political process demonstrates the robustness of Sri Lanka’s democracy,” he said. As the people of the North and East resume their day-to-day lives in a peaceful and stable Sri Lanka, they do so with fully restored democratic freedoms, greatly improved standards of living and with unrestricted opportunities to make a better future for themselves.

“I have every confidence that as a result of the many beneficial developments that have taken place since the end of the war, there will be no space for the re-emergence of our previous problems,” the Defence Secretary said