World – SriLanka;Priority to resettlement of war displaced, says Colombo

B. Muralidhar Reddy

“Ongoing recruitment to armed forces is part of routine process”

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Defence spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rembukwella said on Tuesday that the priority of the government was to make sure that the conditions of the three lakh war displaced were improved and they were resettled at the earliest.

Clarifying on the comments made by the Minister that a process had been set in motion to recruit at least 50,000 more personnel to the forces, a senior official in the Presidential Office said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had not given approval for augmenting the strength of the armed forces.

“The ongoing recruitment and strengthening of the Navy, the Air Force and the police is part of the routine process,” the spokesman said.

Mr. Rembukwella told a news conference here in response to questions that the government had no wish to reduce the size of the forces though the Eelam War IV was over.

The Minister said that during the past few decades the LTTE had an area of around 16,000 sqkm under its control, acquired by force and through treaties.

“This entire area has now been freed from the terrorists and therefore the three forces play a vital role in securing and administrating these areas,” he said.

New headquarters

The Minister said two new security forces headquarters were raised in the Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu areas and they were established apart from the Wanni headquarters.

On the recruitment process, he said that from January 2009 to date 22,130 persons had been recruited to the Army.

The Minister said cynical political opinions point out that the government, now after the end of war, should address political issues such as the 13th amendment. However, the Defence Spokesman stressed that one must first ensure that the people whose lives were disrupted during the three-decade plague of terrorism in the north were bought back to normal life.

Mr. Rembukwella said that during the past few years nearly 28 to 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of the country was spent on the war. In the next few years Sri Lanka’s GDP would increase as the eradication of terrorism had opened many avenues.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said that during the humanitarian operation more than 22,000 LTTE cadres were killed while around 10,000 more were wounded, surrendered or arrested. Around 4,000 soldiers laid down their lives for their motherland while another 20,000 were wounded during the raging battles.

Arms recovered

He said the Army troops continued their search operations in the north and the east. During the past few weeks, weapons, explosive devices and other equipment used by the LTTE were recovered through intelligence received by the troops or through confessions of arrested LTTE cadres during these search operations.

Navy spokesman D.K.P Dassanayake said the Navy played a “Silent Service” in the humanitarian operation. The oceans surrounding Sri Lanka were rich in resources and resources could be used in the development process.

Air Force spokesperson Janaka Nanayakkara said they would continue their work for the national security.

Internews reported that the Special Task Force for the northern development had ordered the military force to expedite the resettlement process under the Vadakkin Vasantham plan.

Mullaithivu Government Agent Emilda Sukumar stated that the President of the Special Task Force Basil Rajapaksa had ordered preparations for the initial stage of resettlement in selected areas within Mullaithivu district.

Landmines

Resettlement and Disaster Management Minister Rishard Badiudeen stated that the landmines were a big challenge for the resettlement in the north.

“Landmines are a big issue and there is no other challenge to us. But as there is a request to do the development process the government is ready to start.”

The government had undertaken to resettle the IDPs in Vavuniya within 180 days and a discussion was held on Tuesday in the Vavuniya military headquarters. “It has been planned that officials and engineers along with the military forces will go to the Pandiyankulam, Thunukkai and Oddusudan areas to do a damage assessment,” an official said.