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| Tuesday, 8 February 2005 |
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SLMM to make use of Tigers' offer by Ranil Wijayapala The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) is to make use of the LTTE offer made for monitors to visit LTTE facilities to inquire into the complaints regarding child recruitment, Nordic Truce Monitors, spokeswomen Helen Olafsdottir told the Daily News yesterday. Olafsdottir said LTTE Political Wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan made this offer when SLMM Acting Head of Mission and Chief of Staff Wagn Winkel raised the issue regarding complaints on LTTE child conscription on the post tsunami scenario when he met him in Kilinochchi on Saturday. "We have not yet decided when and how we are going to make use this offer but we are keen on this offer to inquire into the child recruitment complaints," she added. Winkel is acting as the SLMM Chief as Major. General (rtd) Trond Furuhovde is undergoing treatment at a Colombo hospital. She added that from 2002, the SLMM used to receive an average of 40 complaints on child recruitment by the LTTE per month. "There is no increase in this number following the tsunami catastrophe," she added. Olaffsdottir said the LTTE informed the visiting SLMM delegation on Saturday that they were not in a position to turn back the children coming to them seeking refuge after losing their family members and parents in the tsunami catastrophe. "The LTTE told us that they were not training these children as combatants," she added. The LTTE Political Wing leader offered the SLMM to visit their facilities to inquire into those issues. However, the spokeswoman said the SLMM consider any type of child conscription as a ceasefire violation. Olafsdottir said they were trying to settle complaints on provocations in tsunami affected areas in a peaceful manner. |
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