Is the Sri Lankan Government Helping in Recruitment of Child Soldiers ?

The UN says it is, the Nordic ceasefire monitors say it is and the people of Batticaloa say it is.
I met two families where boys aged 15 and 17 were abducted on the same day, some four weeks ago. The families were in the prayer room. They want their identities hidden for fear that their children will be harmed.

Both families say they have reason to believe that their children have been abducted by a pro-government, break away faction of the Tamil Tiger rebels known as the Karuna Group.
" It is the Karuna group that took my boy, he was returning from his tuition class in the evening when men in civils bundled my boy and his cousin into a waiting van and speed away. The army and police check posts in the area did nothing to stop the speeding car. We went to their political office and saw the foot ware of the boys outside the building. But they just asked us to go. They said they did not have our children. I have visited their main office in Batticaloa many times. But they just ask me to come back after a week." Says the mother one of the abducted boy.
" His father cannot work because he was shot in the shoulder some 5 years ago. He used to go fishing and was the only earning member of the family. He has been gone now for so many weeks. We will starve if he does not come back." says the mother of the other
According to the Nordic ceasefire monitors, over 300 children have been abducted over the past 3 months...most of them by the Karuna group.

"Yes we have seen indications that there is definitely some complacency involved on the part o security forces personnel, weather in turning a blind eye or in allowing a group to operate. That is the extent to which I mean...that is these things are definitely taking place." says a spokesperson for the ceasefire monitors.

Allen Rock a UN official first high lighted the situation in a report a few days ago. The ceasefire monitors immediately confirmed his findings.

Allen had said that elements of the Sri Lankan army and some police officials were helping this pro-government group abduct children for recruitment.
The government's initial response was to dismiss the charge. But now it says it will investigate if the UN and the ceasefire monitors gave it names of those who have been abducted.
" Allen Rock has attended a fund raiser for the Tamil tiger rebels when he was a minister in Canada. He was told by the Canadian intelligence that the Tamil cultural show he was going to was a fund raiser for the Tigers. But he still went. I am not saying that he is biased..but then facts are facts.' says a government spokesman.

On his part the Karuna group political head A .Pradeep calls it an international conspiracy to malign his group.

"The SLMM, ICRC and other agencies are always biased towards the Tigers. I agree there are abductions happening in Batticaloa, but all of these are being done by the tigers. We just get the blame. It is not fair." he says " we do not need children, we have enough adult fighters.'

But a propaganda video he gives me has visuals of child soldiers being trained at camps and also a picture of the group's leader Col. Karuna being followed by a heavily armed child soldier.


Clearly little is being done to prevent the Tigers or the Karuna group from forcibly recruiting. children.

Who controls Batticaloa and Eastern Sri Lanka?

Ever since I returned from Batticaloa town a few days ago, every one I meet wants to know only one thing. Who actually has an upper hand in Batticaloa...or indeed the whole of eastern Sri Lanka ?

On the ground in Batticaloa town, it is a breakaway faction of the Tamil Tiger rebels lead by Vinayakamurthy Muralitharan or Col. Karuna that holds sway.

Technically this is government controlled area...but it is the Karuna group and its political wing the "Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal", TMVP or the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil People that dominates the terrain.

Virtually every wall is painted with the letters T M V P. Their political offices across the east operate in areas that are protected by the Sri Lankan Army.

Significantly, the Tamil Tiger rebels have had to wind up their political operations in almost the whole of the east after attacks on their offices and assassination of their political wing members.

It is not uncommon to see armed Karuna cadres walking fearlessly in army controlled areas. It is hard to believe that they are not working with the army...although the government denies it vehemently.
" It is wrong to say that armed cadres of the Karuna group and the army are working hand in hand in the east. They have political offices in the east...there is nothing wrong with that and the security forces will provide security to any political party that seeks security including the TMVP." a government spokesman told me.

" We have given up our claim to a separate homeland for the Tamil people of Sri Lanka or Tamil Eelam, we just want more rights for the Tamil people within a united Sri Lanka. We do not believe there is any solution that will come from a war with the government. That is what differentiates us from the Tamil Tigers." A Pradeep, the eastern region political head of the Karuna group told me when I met him at his office.

"But does that mean that you will give up arms? " I asked him

"We want to transform into a political party and contest elections and we want Karuna Amman to be the Chief minister. But we cannot give up arms as long as the tigers keep killing our cadres and threaten the Tamil people. We gave up arms immediately after the split, but had to take up arms again because the tigers would not let is do our political work. They have killed so many of out people including the brothers of Karuna Amman" he adds
There are many analysts who say that the army's recent successes in the east have been because of the intelligence and tactical support offered by the Karuna group.

It is estimated that the Karuna group has about 5000 armed fighters and is now a significant player in the east. It is not clear if they have any heavy guns...but I have seen some fiberglass boats in their propaganda film.

Karuna is the former eastern region commander of the Tamil Tigers, it was brigades under his command that bailed out the tigers in the North in the past.

The government has a lot to gain by supporting him...no one knows as much about the tactics and operations of the tigers as much as Karuna does.
It is said that Indian and Sri Lankan intelligence agencies have been pumping in millions of dollars to prop up Col. Karuna and his men. But this is something Pradeep denies.
"It is the people of the east that have made our group, and it is for them alone that we fight." he counters.
His men have new uniforms, weapons, trainers and even a brand new media team.
But the tigers do have their strongholds outside Batticaloa town. There is frequent exchange of big gun fire between the army and the tigers.

Traffic is stopped on the roads leading to Batticaloa when artillery fire is exchanged.
The car I was travelling in was stopped for 5 hours in such an incident.
Civilians just get off their vehicles and sit on the roads, patiently waiting for the army to let vehicles move again.

The thundering sound of artillery shells exploding around a nearby army camp, does not seem to bother them too much.

(Copyrights : Rajesh Sundaram)

The Ceasefire line at Muhamalai, Jaffna

Lunch at Raja Bojun

Raja Bojun at Galle Road is the place to go in Colombo for authentic Sinhalese food. The buffet is served in traditional earthen utensils. And the spread is delicious. "Raja Bojun" translates to " Food for the King" and the flavours and taste do take you back to the times of the great Sinhalese Kings. The elephant at the enterence is adds to the effect.

The buffet included cucumber fry , mixed vegetable and spicy fish, beef and chicken curries.

The ambiance is very modern though, there is a piano man at the center. The front wall is made of glass and the view of the Indian ocean from my table was breath taking.

The buffet includes a fine selection of jellies, fruit salads and cakes to finish the meal on a very sweet note.

A meal for two with drinks will cost you a reasonable 30 dollars.

The Place to eat when you are in Colombo.

Art at the Seylan Building, Galle road, Colombo

Speech

Speech is external thought, and thought internal speech.

-Antoine Rivarol
1753-1801, French Journalist, Epigrammatist

Clouds over Colombo

Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, The Face of the Sri Lankan Army

Preparing to go Live from Colombo