Parents threatened with death :

LTTE child recruitment on the rise - Amnesty

THE recruitment of children by the LTTE is on the increase and children are mainly recruited at temple festivals and junctions, Amnesty International (AI) said in its latest report.

AI said even a large international presence following the tsunami has not significantly helped protect children from LTTE recruitment.

The report adds that the LTTE has failed to live up to its commitment to end recruitment and release children following the Action Plan for Children Affected by War signed in 2002 by the Sri Lanka Government, the LTTE, UN agencies and NGOs.

Despite the LTTE's reluctance to formally release children, it does allow some children to run away while denying them a formal release including release papers that prove they have been released.

Parents had informed the human rights organisation that recruitment of children aged 14 and above by the LTTE is widespread in Government controlled areas.

According to the report, parents and agencies working in Batticaloa believe that less recruitment is taking place in areas dominated by the LTTE.

The report said there is little recourse for families whose children have been recruited. Complaints directly to the LTTE do not usually produce results and where families report to external agencies, such as UNICEF or the SLMM, these agencies can raise the case with the LTTE but are unable to compel the LTTE to release the children.

NGO representatives in Batticaloa had told AI delegates that families are threatened by the LTTE not to report child recruitment and are told: "if you report to the internationals you will only see the body of your child."

Faced with such threats and with the inability of agencies to gain their release, it is not surprising that many cases of child recruitment go unreported.

When AI raised concerns about child recruitment with the LTTE, it had denied knowingly recruiting children and stated that some children try to join the LTTE by disguising their age.

LTTE officials claimed that once such children come to the notice of the LTTE they are immediately released and returned to their families.

This is the answer that the LTTE has consistently given in response to questions about child recruitment; however, it is contradicted by the accounts of many parents and the reports of UNICEF and other organisations working with children.