Sri Lankan Army to Launch Recruitment Drive

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 30, 2002

Sri Lankan Army to Launch Recruitment Drive

Sri Lankan Army on Monday announced plans to recruit new soldiers to bolster its strength despite the ongoing truce with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

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Sri Lankan Army on Monday announced plans to recruit new soldiers to bolster its strength despite the ongoing truce with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

Major General Lohan Gunawardena, the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff told reporters here that 5,000 new recruits are targeted by the army to enlist during one month period starting from May 8.

"There is a shortfall in our strength and we are trying to fill it up," Gunawardena said.

Both the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels have been observing a ceasefire since Christmas Eve last year.

The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) providing an indefinite ceasefire on February 22 this year which paved the way for direct peace talks expected to be held in Thailand in June.

Gunawardena said that the army's recruitment drive was no impediment to the current Norwegian- backed peace process aimed at ending nearly two decades of ethnic war that has claimed over 64, 000 lives since 1983.

"The recruitment drive will not go against the spirit of the MoU." he said.

Gunawardena said the army yearns for peace more than anyone else and has been keen to see an end to the separatist war through negotiations.

"We are also well prepared to fight in the event of a breakdown of the peace process," he added.

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