Child soldiers in Sri Lanka

Militant use of children in Sri Lanka has been an internationally recognized problem since the inception of the Sri Lankan civil war in 1983. The primary recruiters of under the age of 18 children are the rebel LTTE movement and the Karuna group, a break-away faction of the LTTE working with Sri Lanka Forces.[1][2][3][4] Human Rights Watch criticized that threats and intimidation were used by the LTTE to force Tamil families in Sri Lanka to furnish children for military duty. When families reject, their children are sometimes kidnapped at night from their homes or forced recruited while walking to school. Parents who refuse to allow their children to be recruited suffer retaliation by the Tamil Tigers, which may include violence or detention.[5]

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LTTE recruitment

Before 2007 the LTTE was accused of recruiting thousands of children into their ranks. The LTTE has been accused of knowingly recruiting and using child soldiers as front-line troops. Amid international pressure, LTTE announced in July 2003 that it would stop conscripting child soldiers, but both UNICEF and HRW have accused it of reneging on its promises, and of conscripting Tamil children orphaned by the tsunami. LTTE created 'orphanages' for children displaced in the fighting where they underwent indoctrination and recruitment. The Sirasu Puli (Leopard Brigade) was said to be composed entirely of children from these orphanages.[6] UNICEF claimed that LTTE recruited at least 40 children orphaned by the tsunami.[2] However, from the beginning of 2007 LTTE agreed to release all of the recruits under the age of 18. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty accused LTTE of re-recruiting Karuna's former cadres including child soldiers after Karuna's defection from the LTTE in 2004.The LTTE had threatened families that they would take children by force if they did not return, or that they would take other children or parents in their stead.[7][8]

The LTTE routinely visited Tamil homes to inform parents that they must provide a child for the "movement." Families that resist were harassed and threatened. Some families have been told by the LTTE that:

"if you report to the internationals you will only see the body of your child."

Hence, many cases of child recruitment went unreported due to increased insecurity and additional pressures by LTTE not to report.[9][8] According to Human Rights Watch, the recruited child soldiers were subjected to rigorous training. One girl, recruited at age fifteen, described the training as follows.[8]

"The training was very difficult. They don't care if it's a rainy or sunny day. If you get too tired and can't continue, they will beat you. Once when I first joined, I was dizzy. I couldn't continue and asked for a rest. They said, "This is the LTTE. You have to face problems. You can't take a rest." They hit me four or five times with their hands.”

Child soldiers who made mistakes in training or tried to escape the LTTE were met with strict punishments. Manchula, a child soldier, described a punishment she received as follows:[8]

“After the first training I had special training on carrying heavy weapons. We carried them around the playground. One day I had cramps and fever and said I couldn't come. They poured hot water on my body and back as punishment. This left a burn mark.”

Nirmala, a girl recruited at age fourteen, recounted how children were punished by LTTE for trying to escape:[8]

“Lots of people tried to escape. But if you get caught, they take you back and beat you. Some children die. If you do it twice, they shoot you. In my wing, if someone escaped, the whole group was lined up to watch them get beaten. I saw it happen, and know of cases from other groups. If the person dies, they don't tell you, but we know it happens.”

2007

According to UNICEF, between November 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007, 262 children were recruited by the LTTE; this figure includes 32 children who were re-recruited after being released. This number shows a significant decrease in recruitment as compared to the previous 12-month period, which saw the LTTE recruit 756 children, of whom 97 were re-recruits.[10] The LTTE promised that it would release all of the recruits under the age of 18 before the end of the year. On 18 June 2007, the LTTE released 135 children under the age of 18. On 22 October 2007, UNICEF claimed that at least 506 child recruits (under the age of 18) still remained under the LTTE. UNICEF further noted that there had been a significant drop in recruitment of children by the LTTE.[11] Furthermore, a report released by the LTTE's Child Protection Authority (CPA) in 2008 reported that fewer than 40 child soldiers, under the age of 18, still remained in their forces.[12] In January 2008, the LTTE claimed that they had stopped child recruitment.[13] Despite the LTTE claims the LTTE began increasing forced recruitment of children as the war neared its end recruiting children as young as 11 and threatening to shoot children that retreated. However many managed to run away under fire from the LTTE and according to the UNICEF a total of 594 children aged between 12 and 18 years surrendered to armed forces during the end of the war.[14][15][16]

TMVP Paramilitary Recruitment and State Involvement

Since the defection of the LTTE Eastern Commander Colonel Karuna to the Government of Sri Lanka in 2004, the TMVP known as the Karuna Group (A Tamil paramilitary group which supports the Sri Lankan government), has been held responsible for the abduction of children according to UNICEF and Human Rights Watch.[17] Allan Rock, who is a special advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur for Children and Armed Conflict Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, alleged[18] that government forces had forcibly rounded up young Tamil children to fight with Col Karuna's group. Colonel Karuna, while categorically denying any involvement in abducting children, questioned Rock's impartiality, stating that Allan Rock is a former politician with links to the LTTE who had previously helped the LTTE in Canada.[19] Civilians have also complained that the TMVP is continuing to abduct children, including some in their early teens, for use as soldiers.[4] Allan Rock vowed that he had "credible evidence" for the accusations.[18] The government of Sri Lanka and the Government newspaper Daily News asked Mr. Rock to produce substantive proof that Sri Lankan soldiers collaborated in child soldier recruitment.[20] 2008 report by the United Nations stated that TMVP continued to recruit children. The UN further noted that children have been abducted in places like Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Sri Lanka.[13]

See also

References
  1. "UNICEF condemns abduction and recruitment of Sri Lankan children by the Karuna group" (Press release). UNICEF. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  2. "Tsunami orphans swell LTTE ranks". Rediff.com India Limited. 2005-01-26. Archived from the original on September 7, 2005. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  3. "Sri Lankan Rebels Recruiting Child Soldiers" (PDF). Iran Daily. 2005-01-27. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  4. Meo, Nick (2006-09-17). "Tamil Tigers abduct teens to fight". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A17. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  5. "Sri Lanka: Tamil Tigers Forcibly Recruit Child Soldiers". Human Rights Watch. 2004-11-11. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  6. "Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Sri Lanka". refworld.org. Child Soldiers International. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  7. "Sri Lanka: A Climate of Fear in the East". Amnesty International.
  8. "Living in Fear: Child Soldiers and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka". Human Rights Watch. 10 November 2004.
  9. "Sri Lanka: A Climate of Fear in the East". Amnesty International.
  10. Associated Press of Pakistan - Sri Lankan rebels still recruiting child soldiers : UN chief
  11. Sri Lanka: Amnesty International urges LTTE to live up to its pledge to end child recruitment | Amnesty International Archived 2007-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
  12. LTTE PS: Status of UNICEF database on underage LTTE members Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Karuna faction recruiting child soldiers in Lanka: UN". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2008-01-31. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07.
  14. "Once a child soldier now an ice-creme truck driver". UNICEF. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  15. "LTTE recruiting more child soldiers, says UNICEF". Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  16. "'I'm only 16. They gave me a rifle. It was heavy. They said we had to go forward. If we came back, they would shoot us'". TheGuardian.com. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  17. "Sri Lanka: Stop Child Abductions by Karuna Group" (Press release). Human Rights Watch. 2006-11-28. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  18. "Sri Lanka youth 'seized to fight'". BBC News. 2006-11-13. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  19. "Solheim in the pay of Tigers: his house in Norway bought with Tiger money - Col. Karuna". Asian Tribune. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  20. Weerasinghe, Asoka (2006-11-23). "Slice your defence whichever way". Daily News. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. Archived from the original on 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
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