COLOMBO, May 7 (Xinhua) — Following the end of three decade civil war, Sri Lanka has arrested over 36,400 soldiers who had deserted the army, a military spokesman said Monday.
Army Spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya said during the first three months of 2012, over 2500 ex-soldiers have been arrested and they were dealt with military law.
Over the past two decades, around 65,000 soldiers have deserted the army and since the end of war in 2009, over 36,400 of them have been arrested. “There are another thousand to be arrested and the deserters have become an administrative burden to the country’s army,” Wanigasooriya said.
Sri Lanka’s army has around 200,000 approved carders but the deserters have become a problem to maintain the figures. “Following the end of war in May 2009, we gave a number of opportunities for those deserters to return and clear their files and leave the army officially,” Wanigasooriya said.
He added while short-term absentees of one or two months have to face a summary procedure, those long-term absentees would be dealt by the court martial under the military law.
It is reported that during the rice harvesting seasons in Sri Lanka, soldiers who are mostly from countryside families keep away from military service to support their families in paddy fields.
Sri Lanka’s army has fought Tamil Tiger rebels for three decades and more than 21,000 soldiers were killed in battlefront.
Vasu / May 8, 2012
SLA is the biggest employer in Sri Lanka and a job as soldier does not bring good wages. But all the soldiers who went to north to fight became wealthy and have a lot of privileges
They looted Tamil civilians, murdered and raped Tamil women and brought this money and jewellery home to buy a land or a farm, to establish a shop or to build bungalows. They were examples
This one of the most undisciplined army in this world ( see UN statistics in Haiti etc., ) has a good structure in terms of making money out of civilian´s misery from top to bottom of their hierarchy, beginning from general to ordinaty soldier, which is not everyones style.
Some disserted because they could not justify all other fellow soldiers actions. Some left their battalion to start thier own business as underworld thugs, then they had weapons and were taught how to loot civilians by state.
I remember Oliver Stones ” Platoon” Film and the last sentence
“I think now, looking back,
we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves,
and the enemy… was in us.
The war is over for me now,
but it will always be there, for the rest of my days”
I believe we all will understand the content of these sentences in some years
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David Blacker / May 9, 2012
Actually, soldiers’ wages in SL are pretty good when considering the low educational qualifications necessary.
If you had read the article posted here about UN crimes all over the world, the Haiti incident seems minor.
It’s always a good idea to read up on the subject instead of using Hollywood as your history book.
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Vasu / May 9, 2012
You mean we should refer Mahinda Chintanaya
In terms of HR there is no comparatives measurements like minor…
Why do you close your eyes to protect some people
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David Blacker / May 11, 2012
I’m not protecting anyone. I think there is a difference between sex with underage prostitutes and roasting people alive over a fire. I am surprised you cannot see it.
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PresiDunce Bean / May 11, 2012
David BlockHead the Government sycophant and Guardian Angel of the SL armed forces is once again trying to whitewash the government and the SS. (Sinhala Soldiers)
BlockHead, why don’t you just answer Vasu’s questions?
Did “Some” SS loot Tamil civilians and bring this money and jewellery home to buy a land or a farm, to establish a shop or to build bungalows?
Did “Some” SS murder and rape Tamil women?
Did “Some” SS desert to join the underworld?
Just a simple “YES” or “NO” to the above questions would do.
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G Banda / May 11, 2012
What, Gota is tough on deserters, hey, hey, funny,,,,,,,,,
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