Reconciliation Moves Enable 50 Jaffna Youths to Join Army as Militarized Recruits with Pension Rights

A total of 50 unemployed boys and girls in the Jaffna peninsula, including rehabilitated former LTTE combatants who have now joined the Sri Lanka Army under the militarized category reported for non-military duties on Thursday (15) at the Security Force Headquarters - Jaffna (SFHQ-J), adding a new chapter of goodwill, understanding and reconciliation between civilians and members of the Security Forces.

The new initiative was launched by Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi, Commander, Security Forces - Jaffna (SF-J) in close coordination with the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation and other state officials in the peninsula with the blessings of the Commander of the Army who pioneered the project in the peninsula when he was the Jaffna Commander.

Those 50 militarized recruits, entitled to a monthly salary of about Rs 40,000/= in addition to many other privileges, such as meals, transport, medicine, etc carry pension rights in the Army on retirement at 55 years of age. Besides, members of their families, including parents have access to Army medical facilities depending on their marital status. They are to be deployed basically on the Army Farm inside the Palaly Army Cantonment where a massive coconut cultivation project is now underway to grow 100,000 coconut trees, to be in parallel with the ongoing national drive for tree planting. By early this week, the SFHQ-J has succeeded in planting 8000 coconut saplings inside the farm in the cantonment.

On Thursday (15) a simple ceremony welcomed those 50 new recruits at the SFHQ-J Headquarters on the first day of working, during which the SF-J Commander underlined the importance of those employments and the service expected of them to the Army during their 8 hours of stay on the farm. He also appealed those young men and women to work with commitment as Sri Lankan nationals of one family while taking care of their own future.

Commander, SF-J, Colonel General Staff, SFHQ-J and the Officer in Charge of the Army Farm, Palaly were present at the occasion.