LTTE slammed for continued child enlisting

Rajmi MANATUNGA

COLOMBO: Child rights activists yesterday slammed the LTTE for continuing to abduct and forcibly enroll children for combat and called upon the international community to take stern action against the LTTE.

Commenting on the LTTE's abduction of 23 Ordinary Level students in Vinayagapuram on Tuesday, leading child rights activist Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne said that recruiting children for combat by the LTTE has been a pattern and a feature throughout the two-decade conflict in Sri Lanka.

"It is reported that some of the children abducted on Tuesday have been released. But it is not a question of abducting and releasing. Those children should not have been abducted at all. It is time that both the international community and organisations adopt a zero tolerance policy on this issue," she said.

Dismissing the LTTE's claim that the abduction was a 'mistake' owing to the failure to clarify the age of the children, Dr. Wijemanne said it was obvious that the children were under age since they were in a tuition class at the time of abduction.

"There could not have been a possibility of a mistake because the children were revising for their O/L exam at that moment. In any case, the abduction or kidnapping of even an adult is illegal. I think the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the international community must take stern action regarding this incident".

She also rejected the LTTE's assertion that children joined their ranks by giving a higher age as a lame excuse since a child does not have the capacity to consent to recruitment.

"A child is a child. There cannot be 'voluntary recruitment' with regard to a child. Therefore, a very strong attitude should be adopted on this issue," she added.

Tamil United Liberation Front Leader V. Anandasangaree vehemently condemning the LTTE's abduction of schoolchildren urged the international organisations voicing for the children to act fast to protect the innocent children being forcibly recruited by the LTTE in the uncleared areas.

Anandasangaree told the Daily News, he even pointed out to Allan Rock about the LTTE's recruitment of children which went unabated in the uncleared areas and to concentrate more on protecting those innocent ones.

"The LTTE has been continuing its recruitment process. The abductions and killings taking place in the cleared areas have been given much publicity. But there are enormous human right violations taking place in the LTTE held areas.

The non-Governmental institutions which have access to the uncleared areas should pay more attention on the atrocities committed by the LTTE."

"Recent abduction of children who were getting ready for their examinations is another one of the LTTE's violations of human rights and its high time for the International Community to save the children in the North and East from the LTTE," Anandasangaree said.