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| Saturday, 18 October 2003 |
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LTTE hands back 13 conscripted children by Ranil Wijayapala The LTTE despite their continuous denial of child conscription yesterday handed over 13 children, including the four children recruited to the LTTE in Valachchenai to UNICEF office in Batticaloa, the Colombo office of UNICEF said yesterday. According to head of the Batticaloa UNICEF office Andrea James who witnessed the handing over of 13 children said they will ensure that these children be handed over to their respective families, and attending their former schools. The Tigers have been routinely accused of abduction and conscription of children and the most recent incident was reported on October 4 in Valachchenai a day after releasing of 49 child combatants by the LTTE for a joint programme by UNICEF and Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation. The UNICEF office verified that the four children recruited in Valachchenai on October 4 also included among the 13 children released yesterday. "UNICEF has consistently and strongly advocated for an end to child recruitment and the release of 13 children marks a welcome step under the Action Plan that will see the children returning to their home", James added. "We still have 383 unresolved reported cases of recruitment in Batticaloa and UNICEF will continue its advocacy on behalf of these children until they are all home with their families", he added. The UNICEF and the LTTE have agreed on a road map to the rehabilitation of child combatants and both parties are working together since April on a 14 million dollar project to reintegrate LTTE Child soldiers and nearly 50,000 war affected children in the North and East. "For the Action Plan to be to be successful, all new recruitment of children has to be stopped", he added. The UNICEF said there are 1,155 complaints of child abductions by the Tigers. abduction of children have been the most common ceasefire violation by the Tigers. |
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