Fresh general amnesty for Army deserters

Monday, 23 October 2017 01:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A General Amnesty will be offered to Army absentees from 23 October to 15 November this year enabling them to receive their legal discharge.

The Army said this opportunity offered to Army deserters, coinciding with the Army’s 68th anniversary, will enable them to report to their respective regimental headquarters and receive legal discharge. However, absentees in the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps will not receive a discharge under this amnesty.

The Defence Ministry had offered two General Amnesty periods last year (2016) for security forces deserters to seek legal discharge. During the last General Amnesty period which ended on midnight 31 December (2016), 8,877 security forces deserters including 34 officers and 8,843 other rank personnel had reported to their respective services seeking legal discharge. Since January 2017, authorities stepped up operations to arrest deserters.