Sri Lankan News

A batch of 15 former hardcore LTTE cadres who had been successfully rehabilitated at the Army Protective Accommodation and Rehabilitation Center at Thelippale were released on the 29th and 30th of June 2008, Ministry of Defence informs.

The rehabilitated persons were welcomed by their family members who had been invited to the Army establishment.

This group is a part of the 54 LTTE cadres who surrendered themselves to the Army in early March this year. Apart from the re-socialization process, the center conducts short professional courses on building construction, plumbing, automobile technology, electric wiring, and also on English language. The professional courses have been conducted with the assistance of the Technical College, Jaffna, Ministry of Defence said.

According to the officials, most of the LTTE cadres undergoing rehabilitation had been forcibly recruited to the terror outfit in their childhood and had not received any formal education. It has been the long used strategy of the LTTE leadership to deprive education to the Tamil youth to make sure they would have no other option than to depend on the terror outfit.

“Some of the youth rehabilitated here had killed dozens of armed forces members in claymore attacks as LTTE terrorists,” one of the counsellors of the Rehabilitation Center said.

“They are now astonished about the kindness they receive from the Army whom they had been taught were enemies of their race”, he added. He further said that they are no longer blinded by tribalism but had followed the programs with great enthusiasm and hope.

Families who received their rehabilitated relatives expressed their gratitude to the Army officials for their efforts to rehabilitate these children who were once lost in a fanatical dream. The officials told them that the rehabilitation is just the first step and further guidance will be provided for their relatives when necessary.

Padmanadan Vigneshwaran a student who had qualified for university education was also among the men released. Padmanadan said that he would continue his education without further destroying his future for a terror outfit, Ministry sources added.

Courtesy: Government Information Department