Sri Lankan troops deployed in Jaffna will be receiving new perks and incentives, the army announced last month, continuing to ignore the ongoing calls to demilitarise the Tamil homeland.
The perks included a batch of new motorcycles to soldiers stationed in the peninsula and announcing the launch of a new ‘super luxury bus service’ for the military.
In October the army distributed 38 motorbikes to soldiers deployed in Jaffna in order to “enhance the mobility of day today regular duties and to reduce fuel consumption,” a military website claimed. The program totalled a cost of Rs. 7,440,400. Meanwhile, the military also announced the launch of a “Super Luxury bus service” that will pick up soldiers to and from all major army camps in the Jaffna district.
The latest range of benefits for the tens of thousands of Sri Lankan soldiers in the heavily militarised North-East comes as Sri Lanka’s 2018 budget sees defence spending maintain the highest allocation, with a 2.3% increase from last year.
Previous perks for Sri Lankan troops included interest-free loans and a scheme that grants soldiers in the armed forces a grant of Rs. 100,000 at the birth of the third child.
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