Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

The Ministry of Defence announces that the General Amnesty period announced from 20.04.2024 to 20.05.2024 for members of the Tri-Forces who have been marked as Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) is not applicable for Commissioned Officers who are marked as AWOL.

1.         General Amnesty is valid only for other rank personnel of the Tri-Forces who have not reported for duty without leave on or before 31.12.2023.

2.         This General Amnesty period does not apply for Commissioned Officers who have not reported for duty without leave.

3.         During this General Amnesty period, those who report will be legally discharged from their respective services. However, the General Amnesty is not applicable to those personnel mentioned below while taking into consideration the expenses incurred for the special training provided using public funds in the following sectors and considering the difficulties encountered to maintain the operations in those sectors by their discharge.

            a.         Rates where General Amnesty does not apply in the Army,

                        i.          Public Health Inspector

                        ii.         Dental Therapist

                        iii.        Dental Surgery Assistant

                        iv.        Electromagnetic Draughtsman

                        v.         Laboratory Technician

                        vi.        Nurse

                        vii.       Ophthalmologist

                        viii.      Surgery Room Technician

                        ix.        Pharmacist

                        x.         Drug Combinatory

                        xi.        Physiotherapist

                        xii.       Rectifier and Preservation

                        xiii.      Occupational Therapist

                        xiv.      Electrophoresis Artist

                        xv.       Radiologist

                        xvi.      Smart Devices

                        xvii.     Carpentry

            b.         Rates where General Amnesty does not apply in the Navy,

                        i.          Artificers in all categories

                        ii.         Professional Medical / Professional Dental Sailors

            c.         Rates where General Amnesty does not apply in the Air Force,

i.          The personnel in the following rates under the Directorate of Aircraft Engineering who have not completed 12 years of service after completing advanced vocational training courses,

                                    (a).       Aircraft Airframe Technician

                                    (b).      Aircraft Engine Technician

                                    (c).       Aircraft Electrical and Avionics Technician

                                    (d).      Aircraft Safety Equipment Assistant

                        ii.         The following rates under the Directorate of Health Services,

                                    (a).       Certified Nurse

                                    (b).      Electromagnetic Draughtsman

                                    (c).       Electrophoresis Technician

                                    (d).      Pharmacist

                                    (e).       Medical Laboratory Technician

                                    (f).       Biomedical Technologist

                                    (g).      Air Force Medical Inspector

                                    (h).      Radiologist

                        iii.        Rates in Dental Service,

                                    (a).       Certified Nurse

                                    (b).      Radiologist

                                    (c).       Surgery Room Technology

                                    (d).      Dental Assistant Specialties

                                    (e).       Dental Technician Specialties

                                    (f).       Dental Technician (I)

                                    (g).      Dental Therapist

4.         Absentees who are presently abroad can also obtain discharge without reporting to their respective Regiments conforming to the following criteria:

a.         Those seeking discharge should not have any pending disciplinary actions taken against them apart from that of being AWOL.

b.         Should not have travelled abroad by illegal means or should not have fraudulently prepared passports and other documents and have not travelled abroad.

c.         This Amnesty does not apply to those who had gone AWOL and failed to return to the country after attending foreign courses funded by the government or courses offered to Tri-Forces by foreign institutes and those who had proceeded on diplomatic missions or any other requirements.

5.         Further, Other Rank personnel who are currently abroad seeking discharge can do so through a representative with a Power of Attorney attested at the Embassy of Sri Lanka established in the concerned foreign state or attested before a qualified Attorney at Law/Notary Public or equivalent professional of the concerned state (Duly registered in the Registrar General’s Department of Sri Lanka) certified by the Embassy of Sri Lanka established in the respective foreign country or certified before a qualified Attorney at Law/Notary Public or similar professional in the respective country to obtain discharge from service during this General Amnesty period.