Spare a thought for disabled soldiers

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe

(Courtesy of Ceylon Today)

“Every civilization rests on its heroes,” stated Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka at the book launch of “War Heroes Killed in Action” by General Gerry de Silva. Civilizations and even communities, he explains, “attract barbarism, invasions, aggressors”. It is the heroes who come forward, “willing to do what the average is unwilling to do, willing to take a risk, suffer pain, even death in defence of the community”, that protect communities and civilizations from these dangers.

General de Silva’s effort to capture the heroism of the lives lost and immortalize their deeds is done in every society, points out Dr. Jayatilleka. “Look around from U.S. to Cuba, from China to Vietnam. Every society remembers its heroes and passes down its memories of heroes to the next generations. In a midnight rally, announcing the death of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro said, ‘If we are asked what we want our future generations to be like, our answer is let them be like Che Guevara’. That’s the way he passed down the ideals of heroism to the next generation and to the next.”

Strange situation

Battles as ancient as that of Thermopylae are still made into movies, and countries like France has names of all those who fought for France, justly or otherwise, inscribed in stone, notes Dr. Jayatilleka. Yet in Sri Lanka “We live in a very strange situation today. A situation in which we don’t remember, don’t honour, don’t express gratitude to our heroes. We are so ungrateful to our heroes, that we don’t want to even commemorate that the great victory that they contributed to with their heroism and their lives. We don’t talk of victory anymore.

“That’s to dishonour our heroes. To refuse to commemorate victory in a great war, a just war, a long war, that is the very depth of ingratitude. If we don’t honour our heroes, what are the values we pass down to our next generation?”
As a society we have regressed, he says, for not only we refuse to remember their heroism, but allow them to be called war criminals. Furthermore, we have even cosponsored a resolution against them.

“We are looking at ourselves, at the war we fought and won, and our heroes and are saying that this was wrong, we committed crimes, we were not defending ourselves and we don’t trust our institutions – we must get foreign judges or foreign personnel or foreign observers, set up special courts, bring special laws and try the surviving heroes.”
Dr. Jayatilleka speaks thus on 28 October.

Military Intelligence officers

On 27 October, two of the four remaining Military Intelligence (MI) officers detained over the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda secures bail. They were held in custody for over a year, without any charges filed. Their bail conditions were a cash bail of Rs 15 lakhs and two personal bails of Rs. 30 lakhs.

First to be released from the nine officers was Lt. Col. Siriwardena, some five months ago. It was established that he was not in the camp when Ekneligoda is said to have disappeared. Yet, his bail conditions were a cash bail of Rs. 20 lakhs and two personal bails of Rs. 60 lakhs.

This very public investigation has compromised the identity of officers who work undercover. When the MI was likewise betrayed during the Millennium City fiasco, they were systematically assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The then government that is part of the present administration was unable to protect those officers.

Despite the intense investigations over Ekneligoda, the CID has not made any headway. However, the nine officers have been in custody for more than a year, without any remuneration. Initially, they were not even allowed to meet their families. The economic pressures, besides the mental agony that these officers’ families bore since their incarceration, bring forth an interesting question.

NGOs

We have an active beehive of Non Governmental Agencies, often foreign funded, harping on human rights (HR) to us. Yet, none have questioned these officers’ human rights that are being violated. If courts deliver a guilty verdict, then perhaps, their incarceration as well as their HR violations may somehow be justified. However, what if courts pronounce them innocent?
Two weeks before Dr. Jayatilleka’s powerful speech, Prof. Sarath Wijesooriya, heading the civil movement, Puravesi Balaya, made a strange allegation. According to him, 95 per cent of the investigations pertaining to the controversy over the rugger player Thajudeen’s death, editor Lasantha Wickrematunga’s assassination and disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda have been completed. In all these, it has been clearly established that the former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the perpetrator. He directly accused MI Director, Brigadier Tuan Suresh Sallay, an appointee by the Rajapaksa administration, as standing in the way, not allowing the last five per cent from being completed.

Wijesooriya does not possess any reliable evidence. He is merely repeating various accounts certain military and police officers have told him. Apparently Brigadier Sallay has taken President Sirisena hostage, perpetuating the mistruth that the three forces are against him. He challenges President to think intelligently and remove the one person who is hindering the investigations as this officer himself is due to be arrested. The only way to build a civilized society, says Wijesooriya, is by removing Brigadier Sallay.

Obstacle to investigations

In the same speech, one person suddenly becomes two as Wijesooriya includes the present Secretary Defence Karunasena Hettiarachchi as also an obstacle to the investigations. Apparently, he too has allegations of corruption. Therefore, Wijesooriya claims to have advised President many times that Hettiarachchi is no longer suitable for the position.
On 2 November, Brigadier Sallay was removed from his post and replaced by Brigadier Vijendra Gunatillaka.
“Brigadier Sallay is unique,” states JO live wire Udaya Gammanpila. “He has 29 years of experience in the MI. Both colleagues and the foe alike recognize that he’s the best intelligence officer in MI. His removal is a clear attempt to disable the Sri Lankan MI.

“The government has imprisoned a lot of intelligence officers. Moreover they have questioned hundreds of MI Officers, levelling baseless allegations. Now that their leader is removed, they are helpless.
“Usually, every unit of the Army is in action during the war. But after the war, only MI is in action. They collect information to ensure that war would not return. So, the MI is the eyes and ears of the Army. Destroying MI means that at the next war the Sri Lankan Army would be a disabled soldier without eyes and ears.

No MI experience

“We have nothing against the new Commanding Officer, except that he has no MI experience, which is different to the other units. They have no uniforms, office hours, and the usual discipline maintained in the Army. One may have to take drugs, another might have to be a ringleader to understand the happenings in the underworld and collect information. Their work is significantly different from others. One who has no experience in MI cannot lead them or is in a position to advise or monitor them. So the government had jeopardized the MI.”
On 31 October, two days after Dr. Jayatilleka’s speech, around 600 disabled war heroes took to the streets for the second time this year.

“Usually in any military service,” explains MP Udaya Gammanpila, “after the completion of training, soldiers sign a contract for 12 years. They can leave afterwards or lock into another contract of 10 years. However, unless you complete the 12-year contractual period, you are not qualified for the pension. That’s the standard rule in the Army.

Monthly allowance

“If one soldier has served a lesser period, he would receive his monthly salary only till the age of 55 years and afterwards only a monthly allowance of Rs 12,500. That was the standard military practice since establishing the Sri Lanka Military in 1920s.
“However, during the 30 years of war, some could not complete their 12 years of service when they got disabled. Most were young, in their mid-20s or early 30s. They did not realize that after 55 they’ll only get an allowance. Only now, those who were injured in the ’80s are reaching this age and have realized their plight.

“The situation of a disabled soldier is worse than the solider killed in action. Deceased or disabled, their families have to look after themselves. But families have an additional burden of looking after the disabled soldiers who need someone to look after them. Also, in most of the cases as they’ve been restricted to one place, they become mentally stressed, for which they must be treated as well.

“Their argument is simple, “Bombs which made us disabled didn’t care if we had completed 12 years in the Army.” Because of their disabled situation, they are unemployable. So their financial situation is worse than others and don’t have much savings. After 55 years, they can’t survive with only an allowance.

Not a big issue

“This is not a big issue in most of the Third World countries where their life expectancy is very low. But in Sri Lanka, life expectancy is as high as 75 years. So they are going to live 20 more years in this disabled form, without much income to look after themselves.

“When the issue cropped up, on 17 December 2014 the Cabinet decided to grant the full pension, changing the existing system. There were 2,295 military officers and 132 Police officers who were disabled but had not completed at least 10 years in the military. However, the government that came to power 21 days later, totally ignored the Cabinet decision. They only had to implement it.

“The disabled soldiers asked the Government to implement the Cabinet decision. They didn’t do that. During the 2015 Parliamentary election, they began to agitate. The government didn’t want that to impact the election. So, Director General of Pensions immediately issued a circular, informing the Army Commander to the effect that a disabled soldier would automatically get his pension irrelevant of his service time. However, it was only to silence the soldiers because afterwards, nothing happened.
“They continued having discussions with defence Secretary and other officials, but nothing happened. Then they decided to protest in Fort in July. When they continued their protest overnight, Minister Duminda Dissanayaka came with a written pledge from the President, promising them full pension within three months. So they dispersed.
“Three months lapsed on 26 October, but nothing happened. At least the Government didn’t bother to communicate to the Disabled War Heroes Association about the progress.

Calculations completed

“So on 31 October, they came out to the streets again. The Defence Secretary informed them that they have been calculating during the entire year, and that’s the delay. Though calculations for all 2,295 are completed, funds have not been allocated for the year. So the Government will start paying from 1 February 2017.

“Even if we keep the service pension at the high end of Rs 30,000, it’s only 72 million rupees for a month. This is very strange when Rs 300 million was allocated for an PM for two bulletproof vehicles, another Rs 60 million for a vehicle for the Field Marshal of the Sri Lankan Army, supplementary allocations for different ministries for renovation of official bungalows, purchasing furniture and vehicles. Those are mere luxuries. This is an essential. If they have any budgetary issue the Joint Opposition is ready to convene Parliament any day at any time to allocate the required funds for the purpose.

“But the Government is not ready to change its stance. So our war heroes have decided not to leave without winning their demands. Even in the rain they are waiting on the road. Some people have helped them with some tents. That’s not enough, those who are fasting unto death are in tents, but others are outside in the rain.

“If the media agitate the sensitivity of people, there’d be millions of people here. When Derana campaigned for a PET machine for the Cancer Hospital, there was Rs 232 million donated by Sri Lankans. This is a more sensitive issue than cancer. People didn’t get cancer because of us; but they got disabled because of us. But media think this would be considered as an anti-government news item, because the government is expected to act. As these channels are worried that their licence might be revoked, they report the issue sparingly.”

However, it is very puzzling why the Government should treat our war heroes in this manner for the majority in the police and military voted for the Government. While the government baulks at paying a pension to our disabled war heroes, the Northern Provincial Council pays Rs 3,500 as an allowance to the ex-terrorists from our taxes.
“We have to be mindful,” points out MP Gammanpila, “that the Government removed the DMI on the request of a professor leading a foreign fund driven NGO. So, it appears we no longer have a sovereign country, but driven by LTTE and Western powers.”

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