‘National rejuvenation getting into top gear’ - Part
IV:
Reintegration with the focus on multiple choices
Text of the keynote speech at the defence
seminar, ‘Towards Lasting Peace And Stability’ delivered by Defence and
Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on August 8
Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa delivering the keynote speech at the defence seminar,
‘Towards Lasting Peace And Stability’ in Colombo last week.
Picture by Wasitha Patabendige |
Forty six different vocational training courses were also provided to
the beneficiaries of the rehabilitation programme. The courses involved
many sectors, including agriculture, industry, services and
entrepreneurship. Substantial opportunities were provided for training
information technology, with assistance from private sector
implementation partners, and a computer lab was set up with the capacity
to train approximately 100 persons at a given time.
A number of programmes were created to support beneficiaries who
wished to set up their own businesses, with courses being conducted on
self-employment, entrepreneurship and micro enterprise development. A
special loan scheme for self-employment was also launched.
It is important to note that steps have also been taken to recruit a
large number of these rehabilitated ex-LTTE combatants to the Civil
Defence Force. They will be used for development activities in their
areas of residence.
The Reintegration of the rehabilitees to society took place only
after trained counsellors assessed their preparedness to adapt to
society and resume normal lives. Reintegration programmes were conducted
at various stages, including a large ceremony that was held at Temple
Trees in September 2011 in the presence of the President. In all, 10,965
rehabilitees have been reintegrated to society as of now. 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.
Only 636 beneficiaries still remain in rehabilitation, at four
centres located at Maramadu, Welikanda, Kandakadu and Poonthottam. These
rehabilitees 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. It should be noted that a further
383 ex-combatants who were in the rehabilitation programme have been
identified and detained for further investigations and legal action. It
should also be mentioned that many of the LTTE cadres who were detained
during the course of the war have also been sent for rehabilitation,
with only the cadres most involved in LTTE activities being selected for
prosecution.
Rehabilitation programme
The primary focus of the rehabilitation and reintegration programme
was to equip the former LTTE cadres with alternative means to a
meaningful existence. It was felt that the best way to deradicalise
these individuals was by granting them the chance to become productive
members of society who had no reason to feel marginalised or
insignificant.
A preliminary report on research conducted about the rehabilitation
programme by Dr. Kruglanski and Dr. Gelfland of the University of
Maryland, College Park, in the USA, has indicated that even hard-core
ex-LTTE cadres have undergone a significant reduction in their support
for violence. The more the beneficiaries built up a rapport with the
staff members and guards at the rehabilitation centres, the less likely
they were to support the violence they believed in while they were with
the LTTE.
These findings are not only very encouraging from the point of view
of restoring normalcy in Sri Lanka, but they also vindicate the approach
adopted by the government towards rehabilitation and reintegration. This
approach has been extremely generous. Most of these cadres who were
beneficiaries of rehabilitation and reintegration were involved in
attacks against Armed Forces personnel on the field of battle.
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.
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.
Dividends of peace
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.
Considering the indisputable progress that has been achieved on
demining, Reconstruction, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and
Reintegration, Reconciliation has become the only issue on which those
who wish to criticise Sri Lanka can dwell. Yet this too is an unfounded
criticism. Over the past three years, a great deal of work has been done
to improve the opportunities and access to state services of all Sri
Lankans, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, caste, or place of
origin. The focus has been to empower all sections of our society, and
most particularly those who were under the LTTE for so many years, so
that they can fully benefit from the dividends of peace.
Restoring normalcy to the North and East as quickly as possible after
the dawn of peace was an essential first step in this regard. Disarming
the Armed Groups that had stood against the LTTE in these areas during
the war was very important. Members of groups such as the EPDP, EPRLF,
PLOTE and TMVP had carried arms for self-protection against LTTE
attacks. After the LTTE’s defeat, and the full re-establishment of
government control in those areas, immediate steps were taken to disarm
these groups.
To be continued |