Children hiding in wells or cattle sheds

The LTTE is reportedly stepping up its recruitment drive in the north in preparation for an all-out battle with government troops, Amnesty International told the Daily Mirror yesterday.

The AI said it also received reports of Tiger cadres specially targeting teenagers in the Madhu area.

Meanwhile aid agencies operating in the east said the recruitment of children by the LTTE and the Karuna faction was continuing unabated and families afraid of losing their children to either of these groups were hiding the children in wells, cattle sheds or on ceilings.

An official working with a leading aid agency said helpless parents were frequently heard to lament that there was no where to go or anyone to turn to.

Amnesty International was particularly concerned about child recruitment from among some 29,000 refugees who escaped from the heavy fighting at the Vavuniya-Mannar border and were being sheltered at the Madhu Church camp.

"The recruitment of child soldiers is appalling and condemnable – childhood is a special time for play and physical and mental development. But sadly most children are forcibly abducted and this is a terrifying and a traumatic experience not only for the child but also the families, uncertain as to what has happened to the children," AI Deputy Asia Director Tim Parritt said.

With regular reports of child recruitment by the LTTE and the Karuna faction -- irrespective of whether the children were forcibly taken away or chose to join either of the groups voluntarily -- Mr. Parritt reiterated that using children aged below 15 years, in armed conflict was banned under international law.

“We urgently call for the LTTE and the Karuna faction to immediately stop recruiting children and to return them to their families,” Mr. Parritt said.

Leading rights’ groups including the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, last month urged the US government to support legislation which sought to limit military assistance to Sri Lanka and some 20 other countries where the use of child soldiers wass rampant.

A new bipartisan bill -- Support the Child-Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 -- introduced by US Senators Richard Durbin and Sam Brownback calls to restrict such aid but to be implemented will require the support of the Bush administration.

(http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/05/10/front/4.asp)