AFP

Colombo

Sri Lankan troops suffering from post-traumatic stress after their war with Tamil rebels will for the first time have a residential facility in which to meditate, a monk said yesterday.

Diyasenpura Wimala said he was establishing a formal meditation centre just outside the capital Colombo.

“We will be able to accommodate about 100 people at a time with the new centre I am
starting,” the monk said.

He said he had conducted smaller programmes for security forces in the past two years for about 3,000 personnel.

Work on the residential centre will begin today at a hillside location in the district of Gampaha in the presence of military top brass.

Troops crushed separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas and declared an end to 37 years of ethnic bloodshed in May 2009. The UN estimates that at least 100,000 people were killed in the conflict, one of the bloodiest in Asia.

“Some soldiers have been involved in violent incidents because of the effect the war had on them,” the monk said. “Meditation can play a big role in helping those who have suffered severe stress.”

Army spokesman Jayanath Jayaweera said the military has been conducting small-scale meditation programmes, but the latest initiative would be the first residential facility for troops to de-stress in a spiritual
environment.

“This meditation facility for security forces will be the first of its kind in South Asia,” Jayaweera said, adding that the military fully supported the initiative of the monk.