Former Tamil rebels wed in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - Fifty-three former Tamil rebel couples in northern Sri Lanka were wed in a mass ceremony Sunday, an official said.

Most of the couples had met when they were members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fighting against government troops, before the movement was militarily crushed in May last year.

The ceremony was attended by Indian Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi and President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son Namal, in Vavuniya, 254 km north of the capital, a government official said.

Ordinary cadres of the Tamil rebels were prevented from getting married when they were members of the guerrilla movement, although senior members were able to maintain families, sources said.

Some 10,000 former rebels are currently in government custody, some of them undergoing “rehabilitation”.