04-23-2004, 11:25 AM
<span style='color:red'>More than 1,000 Sri Lanka child soldiers return home.
By Lindsay Beck
[size=9]COLOMBO (Reuters)
[size=14]More than 1,000 children who fought for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have returned home in the last month, in the biggest release since the start of the island's 20-year civil war, UNICEF said on Friday.
The Tigers formally freed 300 child soldiers to UNICEF and more than 750 returned to their villages of their own accord, spurred by the demobilisation of a breakaway faction whose eastern region the rebels retook earlier this month.
"This is the biggest in the history of Sri Lanka's conflict. Even with just the 300 it is the biggest ever," said Geoffrey Keele, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund.
But despite the unprecedented demobilisation, UNICEF has been forced to defend its role after accusations by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that it is clamouring too loudly for the release of more children, some of whom are as young as 10.
There has been "a disproportionate emphasis on the release of the children from the LTTE at the expense of follow-up and attention to issues supporting their reintegration into the community," the Tigers' political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan said in a letter to UNICEF posted on the Tamilnet Web site.
The Tigers have admitted they use underage fighters, but say they have joined willingly, driven by poverty or by persecution by the Sri Lankan military.
UNICEF has expressed concern that the rebels could re-recruit child soldiers and called on them to match the demobilisation in the east with similar moves in the north, saying they still harbour "hundreds and possibly thousands" of children.
But Thamilselvan said the number of children referred to was "grossly exaggerated" and has "eroded the confidence of the LTTE in UNICEF's genuine commitment to addressing the needs of the children of the north-east".
UNICEF said it wants better lives for all the children.
"It's a challenging and complex issue. But obviously we're committed to trying to improve the lives of all children in the north and east," said UNICEF's Keele.
The agency has embarked on a $14-million action plan to help 50,000 war-affected children in the north and east, the centre of the Tigers' fight for a separate Tamil state.
It has built transit centres for newly released child soldiers, started educational programmes and offered support for their families.
The Tigers' release of children is also seen as a test of the rebels' sincerity in peace efforts with the government. A two-year truce still holds in the island, although direct talks to end the war that has killed 64,000 have been on hold since April 2003.</span>
Reuters...!
By Lindsay Beck
[size=9]COLOMBO (Reuters)
[size=14]More than 1,000 children who fought for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have returned home in the last month, in the biggest release since the start of the island's 20-year civil war, UNICEF said on Friday.
The Tigers formally freed 300 child soldiers to UNICEF and more than 750 returned to their villages of their own accord, spurred by the demobilisation of a breakaway faction whose eastern region the rebels retook earlier this month.
"This is the biggest in the history of Sri Lanka's conflict. Even with just the 300 it is the biggest ever," said Geoffrey Keele, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund.
But despite the unprecedented demobilisation, UNICEF has been forced to defend its role after accusations by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that it is clamouring too loudly for the release of more children, some of whom are as young as 10.
There has been "a disproportionate emphasis on the release of the children from the LTTE at the expense of follow-up and attention to issues supporting their reintegration into the community," the Tigers' political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan said in a letter to UNICEF posted on the Tamilnet Web site.
The Tigers have admitted they use underage fighters, but say they have joined willingly, driven by poverty or by persecution by the Sri Lankan military.
UNICEF has expressed concern that the rebels could re-recruit child soldiers and called on them to match the demobilisation in the east with similar moves in the north, saying they still harbour "hundreds and possibly thousands" of children.
But Thamilselvan said the number of children referred to was "grossly exaggerated" and has "eroded the confidence of the LTTE in UNICEF's genuine commitment to addressing the needs of the children of the north-east".
UNICEF said it wants better lives for all the children.
"It's a challenging and complex issue. But obviously we're committed to trying to improve the lives of all children in the north and east," said UNICEF's Keele.
The agency has embarked on a $14-million action plan to help 50,000 war-affected children in the north and east, the centre of the Tigers' fight for a separate Tamil state.
It has built transit centres for newly released child soldiers, started educational programmes and offered support for their families.
The Tigers' release of children is also seen as a test of the rebels' sincerity in peace efforts with the government. A two-year truce still holds in the island, although direct talks to end the war that has killed 64,000 have been on hold since April 2003.</span>
Reuters...!
<img src='http://kuruvikal.yarl.net/archives/PETBIRD1.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>