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[COLOMBO, 25 February 2008] - LTTE is continuing to "forcibly train" children in its stronghold in northern Sri Lanka, before returning them to their normal environment, the government has alleged.
"This (LTTE) terrorist group continues recruitment and use of children as combatants and its commitment (to stop such recruitment) was never implemented," the Sri Lankan Permanent Representative to the UN, Prasad Kariyawasam, told the working group of the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict. Kariyawasam said the Tamil Tigers achieve their objective "by forcibly submitting the children to weapons training and thereafter returning them to their normal environment, so that they could be used for combat purposes as and when the need arises". Evidence has surfaced to suggest that the LTTE does not allow children to successfully complete secondary education unless they undergo weapons training, Kariyawasam said at the UN headquarters on Friday. Local and international agencies compiling statistics on child recruitment do not seem to have taken note of this new strategy adopted by the LTTE, the Sri Lankan Diplomat added. Kariyawasam also said the situation with regard to child abductions in Eastern Province has improved in a "tangible manner" following the eviction of the rebels from the Eastern Province last year. "There were no complaints recorded by law enforcement authorities in 2008 relating to abduction or recruitment of children by any armed group in the Eastern Province," he told the UN body. Government also criticised The government has rejected her call for UN human rights monitors to be deployed. According to New York-based Human Rights Watch, there have been over 1,000 recent abductions. The government says many reported cases are false. "In the context of the armed conflict and the emergency measures taken against terrorism, the weakness of the rule of law and the prevalence of impunity is alarming," Ms Arbour said. Further information
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has in the past questioned the government's readiness to improve Sri Lanka's rights record.