The LTTE has a long record of recruiting children for combat. Irrespective of gender, children as young as nine years are conscripted mostly by coercion; the average child recruitment age stands at 14 to 17 years. Though the exact number of child soldiers with the LTTE is not available, there are nearly 700 complaints pending with the UNICEF on forced recruitment. The actual figure, however, could be 10 times higher, given the fact that majority of the people do not complain. In the year 2002 alone nearly 300 children were roped in by the Tigers to augment its strength.
Known as Sirasu Puli (‘Leopard Brigade’), baby brigades of the LTTE are composed entirely of children; it is one of the LTTE's most fierce fighting forces. The child recruitment system of the Tigers is sophisticated, using prominent places of congregationâ€â€schools, health campaigns, immunization sites, festivals or religious or social gatheringsâ€â€for propaganda or enticement. ‘Cult of martyrdom’ is emphasized among the children in general and each family is encouraged to contribute one child. Attention is drawn prominently to verses from the ancient Tamil literary collection, Puranaanooru (400 poems of war and wisdom) that romanticises mothers pride in anointing their sons and sending them to win glory or honourable death in war. Abduction is resorted to if the families fail to contribute their quota. To save their children many families flee safer places far away under the control of the government. For the orphaned, displaced and poor, joining the rebel ranks is an attractive option in which financial packages are offered to both the enrollers and their family members. However, the Tigers sophistically deny forceful recruitment of children. But, at the same time, it does not deny the presence of children in its fighting forces claiming that “they are volunteers who came forward to serve.†They argue that “a conscripted soldier will not be a fighting person and the victories that the LTTE has established show that we have committed soldiers.†It is also claimed that “Children are coming to us because of the atrocities by the ‘Sinhala army.’ We are not recruiting them.â€Â
Initially, the children are used as guards, cooks and helpers and then as messengers and spies. Gradually they are inducted into the fighting forces firstly in battlefield support functions and later in active combat. The children are given education in “special schools†aimed at indoctrinating them. Children are a preferred choice for soldiering “so as to make them better defenders of Eelam in the future.†The naval wing chief Soosai, who joined the LTTE at 13 and the LTTE chief, V Prabhakaran, himself, who became a militant in his teens, are cited as examples. But such belief ignores the fact that most of the children who are sent to the battlefront never come back alive.
The LTTE has habitually disregarded every international effort in discouraging child soldiering. In fact, during the visit of Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara A Ottunu, to Sri Lanka from 3-9 May 1998, the LTTE leadership undertook “not to use children below 18 years of age in combat and not to recruit children less than 17 years old.†The LTTE also accepted that “a framework to monitor these commitments should be put in place.†During the fifth round of peace talks in Berlin in February 2003 the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka requested UNICEF to play a substantial role in establishing shared programmes to address the needs of up to 50,000 children affected by war. As a follow-up, a rehabilitation centre was opened in Kilinochchi by the UNICEF and Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) in October 2003. But, is the LTTE truly committed to the rehabilitation of child soldiers? If there is sincerity then it should be reflected in the absence of fresh recruitment as well. But the fact is that conscription of children has skyrocketed especially after the ceasefire agreement (February 2002). Free movement of Tigers into government controlled areas as per provisions of the agreement has enabled them to increase the strength of the ‘Leopard Brigade.’
The government is neither in a position to contain recruitment nor provides proper rehabilitation of the surrendered or escaped child soldiers of the LTTE. The main focus of the previous PA government was to internationally expose the LTTE on child soldiering rather than addressing the problems of the affected children. The present United National Front government though seemingly concerned, has not made significant effort in this regard. The constitution of National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) is indeed a step in the right direction in the comprehensive protection of children. But, since its mandate is too vast, a specialised body is required to address the issue.
Facebook
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Y! MyWeb
