General Amnesty period announced for Army deserters

A General Amnesty which will be effective from October 23 to November 15 is to be offered to Army absentees enabling them to receive legal discharge from the Army, Defence Ministry said.

According to the Army, this opportunity offered to Army deserters, coinciding with the 68th Army anniversary, will enable them to report to their respective Regimental Headquarters and receive legal discharge. However, absentees in the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps would not receive discharge under this amnesty.

The Defence Ministry had offered two General Amnesty periods last year (2016) for tri forces deserters to seek legal discharge. During the last General Amnesty period which ended on midnight 31st December (2016), 8877 tri forces deserters including 34 officers and 8843 other rank personnel had reported to their respective services seeking legal discharge. Since January (2017) authorities stepped up operations to arrest deserters.

The media briefing was attended by senior military officers including Director General, Personnel Administration, Major General Sudath Perera and Military Spokesman and Director General, Directorate of Media at Army Headquarters, Major General Roshan Seneviratne.