By Feizal Samath
COLOMBO, Oct 3 2002 (IPS)

A controversial welfare organisation in Sri Lanka’s northern Vanni region, widely believed to be controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on Thursday fended off allegations that the children’s homes it runs were feeding recruits to the rebel army.

"That’s absolutely untrue. Come and take a look at our facilities and you would understand the work that’s being done," Dr Jay Maheswaran from the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) based in Kilinochchi, said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a children’s summit in Colombo, Maheswaran — better known to the Sri Lankan public as a member of the LTTE delegation at the peace talks with the Sri Lankan government in Thailand last month — said unfair allegations had been made about children’s homes and pre-schools run by the TRO.

"Some children have lived and been cared in our homes during the extent of the 19-year old war. Many children have returned home during times when conditions have improved while we also helped a girl – who had been in one of our homes for a long period – to get married," he said.

The Australia-based Maheswaran, an agricultural scientist and the development specialist on the rebel delegation for peace talks, made a presentation at the Oct 1-3 International Conference on Children in Armed Conflict organised by Save the Children, UK and Norway in Colombo. He said the TRO runs eight rehabilitation homes and more than 300 pre-schools in the Vanni district and he dealt at length with the work of the organisation.

Speaking on the needs of children in the Vanni which is the worst war-affected region in Sri Lanka, he said the intensity of the war and the economic embargo has set back the region by 20 years.

Acknowledging improvements to the region after the peace process since last December and the lifting of the economic embargo, the development specialist said there was still a lot more to be done and a great need for infrastructure for schools and hospitals. "Doctors are in short supply and the lack of proper refrigeration means we can’t store vaccines."

The war situation has traumatized many children in the region with some losing their parents, being separated from family and living in refugee camps. Children, whose legs have been blasted by landmines, have to replace their prosthesis every six months.

"The problems are numerous with few solutions," he said adding that TRO welfare homes have a total of 1,600 children who are either orphaned, from single parents or sent to them due to poverty. "Most of the children come from poor families who cannot afford to look after them."

Some 50 percent of children in the region suffer from malnutrition while 1,714 children were admitted to TRO’s six nutritional centres in addition to over 14,000 children receiving nutritional supplements through at pre-schools, implying the TRO’s powerful rehabilitation role in the region.

Commenting on their educational needs, Maheswaran – who is expected to bring up many of these issues during ongoing peace talks – said that of the 100,000 children enrolled to Vanni schools in 1998, 21,900 students dropped out while close to 4,000 never attended schools.

"A 25 percent drop out rate is very high and worrying."

The number of teachers per students in the Vanni is an alarming one for every 77 students compared to the northern ratio of 1-for-44 and the islandwide ratio of 1-for-27.

Asked about child soldiers, the TRO representative said the LTTE’s position is that armed cadres are all over 18 years and that children mostly join the group seeking refuge.

UNICEF and several other non-governmental organizations, as well as the government – have accused the rebels of continuing to recruit youngsters despite the peace process.

The rebels have denied the allegation, saying those below 18 years join the organisation on their own accord, and were helping out in community work and non-war activity.

UNICEF officials said there are no estimates of child soldiers who are generally regarded to be in the age group of around 14 years and above. "They could number several thousands. There has been no proper head count," one official said.

Unofficial figures by some NGOs estimate that in a rebel army of close to 10,000 cadres, about 35 percent would be around 14 years of age.

When the Colombo meeting opened on Tuesday, Ted Chaiban, UNICEF representative in Sri Lanka, urged that the voices of the children and youth be heard in Sri Lanka’s peace process. "We should not exclude or marginalize these groups during the peace process."

More than 150 delegates from 11 war-affected countries including Liberia, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka took part in the three-day meeting aimed at disussing the impact of armed conflict on children.

Professor Harendra de Silva, chairman of the state-run National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka spoke of a survey on child soldiers that they had conducted in which 19 former child soldiers of the LTTE, who had escaped, were interviewed.

"Eighteen said they had volunteered to join the group for many reasons including a member of the family being killed by the armed forces," he said.

One 19-year old said he was forced to shoot his friend who was suspected of being a spy. "I was also asked to bury him," De Silva said, reading from the research study.

Another 16-year old girl shot a man and "when the victim’s son protested, she shot the son too without any remorse," de Silva recalled.

Excerpt:

By Feizal Samath
COLOMBO, Oct 3 2002 (IPS)

A controversial welfare organisation in Sri Lanka’s northern Vanni region, widely believed to be controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on Thursday fended off allegations that the children’s homes it runs were feeding recruits to the rebel army.

“That’s absolutely untrue. Come and take a look at our facilities and you would understand the work that’s being done,” Dr Jay Maheswaran from the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) based in Kilinochchi, said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a children’s summit in Colombo, Maheswaran — better known to the Sri Lankan public as a member of the LTTE delegation at the peace talks with the Sri Lankan government in Thailand last month — said unfair allegations had been made about children’s homes and pre-schools run by the TRO.

“Some children have lived and been cared in our homes during the extent of the 19-year old war. Many children have returned home during times when conditions have improved while we also helped a girl – who had been in one of our homes for a long period – to get married,” he said.

The Australia-based Maheswaran, an agricultural scientist and the development specialist on the rebel delegation for peace talks, made a presentation at the Oct 1-3 International Conference on Children in Armed Conflict organised by Save the Children, UK and Norway in Colombo.

He said the TRO runs eight rehabilitation homes and more than 300 pre-schools in the Vanni district and he dealt at length with the work of the organisation.

Speaking on the needs of children in the Vanni which is the worst war-affected region in Sri Lanka, he said the intensity of the war and the economic embargo has set back the region by 20 years.

Acknowledging improvements to the region after the peace process since last December and the lifting of the economic embargo, the development specialist said there was still a lot more to be done and a great need for infrastructure for schools and hospitals. “Doctors are in short supply and the lack of proper refrigeration means we can’t store vaccines.”

The war situation has traumatized many children in the region with some losing their parents, being separated from family and living in refugee camps. Children, whose legs have been blasted by landmines, have to replace their prosthesis every six months.

“The problems are numerous with few solutions,” he said adding that TRO welfare homes have a total of 1,600 children who are either orphaned, from single parents or sent to them due to poverty. “Most of the children come from poor families who cannot afford to look after them.”

Some 50 percent of children in the region suffer from malnutrition while 1,714 children were admitted to TRO’s six nutritional centres in addition to over 14,000 children receiving nutritional supplements through at pre-schools, implying the TRO’s powerful rehabilitation role in the region.

Commenting on their educational needs, Maheswaran – who is expected to bring up many of these issues during ongoing peace talks – said that of the 100,000 children enrolled to Vanni schools in 1998, 21,900 students dropped out while close to 4,000 never attended schools.

“A 25 percent drop out rate is very high and worrying.”

The number of teachers per students in the Vanni is an alarming one for every 77 students compared to the northern ratio of 1-for-44 and the islandwide ratio of 1-for-27.

Asked about child soldiers, the TRO representative said the LTTE’s position is that armed cadres are all over 18 years and that children mostly join the group seeking refuge.

UNICEF and several other non-governmental organizations, as well as the government – have accused the rebels of continuing to recruit youngsters despite the peace process.

The rebels have denied the allegation, saying those below 18 years join the organisation on their own accord, and were helping out in community work and non-war activity.

UNICEF officials said there are no estimates of child soldiers who are generally regarded to be in the age group of around 14 years and above. “They could number several thousands. There has been no proper head count,” one official said.

Unofficial figures by some NGOs estimate that in a rebel army of close to 10,000 cadres, about 35 percent would be around 14 years of age.

When the Colombo meeting opened on Tuesday, Ted Chaiban, UNICEF representative in Sri Lanka, urged that the voices of the children and youth be heard in Sri Lanka’s peace process. “We should not exclude or marginalize these groups during the peace process.”

More than 150 delegates from 11 war-affected countries including Liberia, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka took part in the three-day meeting aimed at disussing the impact of armed conflict on children.

Professor Harendra de Silva, chairman of the state-run National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka spoke of a survey on child soldiers that they had conducted in which 19 former child soldiers of the LTTE, who had escaped, were interviewed.

“Eighteen said they had volunteered to join the group for many reasons including a member of the family being killed by the armed forces,” he said.

One 19-year old said he was forced to shoot his friend who was suspected of being a spy. “I was also asked to bury him,” De Silva said, reading from the research study.

Another 16-year old girl shot a man and “when the victim’s son protested, she shot the son too without any remorse,” de Silva recalled.

Excerpt: