Indoctrination by pro - LTTE schools in West

Ridma Dissanayake

Four hundred and twenty pro -LTTE schools are functioning in five European countries operated by the diaspora with the aim of passing views and beliefs of the LTTE to the next generation and to keep alive the separatism ideology, according to information received by the Defence and Urban Development Ministry .

The schools are functioning in Germany, Switzerland, France, Netherlands and Denmark. Approximately 20,000 Tamil students between the ages four to 20 are studying in these schools.

According to sources, there are 145 schools in Germany, 133 schools in Switzerland, 65 schools in Denmark, 52 schools in France and 25 schools in the Netherlands, Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) Director General Lakshman Hulugalle said. "LTTE front organizations use most of these students not only to promote LTTE interests' overseas but also as a source of income as well," he said.

"They also charge a fee from all students and it is operated from funds collected from the LTTE international network," he added.

The school system is introduced as the Thamilcholai school system and in Europe alone, there are more than 350 Thamilcholai schools functioning under different names such as MK,TKN, APTK and ANNAIPOOPATHY.

"When LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabakaran was alive, the LTTE established two orphanages namely Sencholai for female orphans and Kantharuban Aravichollai for male orphans. Both were also pro- LTTE schools and these have trained suicide cadres as well. All these were controlled and administrated by the LTTE to train LTTE cadres, but to the outside world they were presented as orphanages run by an independent social welfare groups," the Director General stated.

An Insight into LTTE Administrated Tamil Schools in Europe -The Radicalization of Children booklet published by the Defence Ministry had confirmed that the above schools which belong to the Thamilcholai school system charge eight to 25 euros per subject and they are collected as funds for the LTTE organizations.