“Sri Lanka’s Children as Instruments of War by the LTTE”

“Children playing soldiers. That makes sense but why do soldiers play Children?” - Karl Kraus

The only toy they held was the gun, the only playmates they had were the other child soldiers equally frightened and brainwashed into hating people they had never seen or known. What did these Tamil children enjoy? The only prize giving they attended was the LTTE passing out parade where they shook hands with the mass murderer Prabhakaran and was given a cyanide capsule and gun to kill. Once taken, children had no choice other than to become a soldier or be killed. Parents were denied watching their children grow and lived in agony. The ruthless LTTE gave cyanide capsules and grenades to its soldiers, including children. Life under the LTTE’s grip was no joy as they were taken into harsh training programs and sometimes lost their limbs while testing explosives, they were used as an instrument in the war. The people had to struggle to make ends meet while LTTE leaders enjoyed the unbelievable luxury of having a swim in a high-security zone. The photographs of Prabhakaran and his wife Madivadini, children, and some of his top 'commanders' bare evidence of the luxurious life they had led as thousands of forcibly recruited children were thrown into battle. 

The moments where children were forcibly taken in as a soldier has been a recurrent nightmare for many parents. The LTTE Abducted children and threatening their families. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had recruited over thousands of child soldiers in Sri Lanka since active fighting ended for a brief period in 2002. However, (LTTE, or Tamil Tigers) used intimidation and threats to pressure Tamil families in the north and east of Sri Lanka to forcibly provide their sons and daughters for military service. When families had refused to do so, their children were sometimes abducted from their homes at night while sleeping or forcibly recruited while walking on the way to school or bathing near the river banks. The Parents and family members who resisted the recruitment of their children had faced grave retribution from the Tamil Tigers, including inhumane violence, detention and death.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was a Tamil militant organization that was based in northeastern Sri Lanka. Its aim was to secure an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east in response to the state policies of Sri Lankan governments that were widely considered discriminative towards the minority Sri Lankan Tamils. In Sri Lanka the armed conflict has been ongoing since 1983. The war has incurred heavy human and economic costs with more than thousands of lives lost, mostly combatants, and more than one million people displaced. When the LTTE was eventually defeated and its leadership abolished on May 18th 2009 the present regime is aware that LTTE elements within the global Tamil Diaspora have been trying to form violence in the Island by falsely portraying the Sri Lanka government with fabricated stories and condemning the government for war crimes.

Who are child soldiers? The Coalition considers the term child soldier to be equivalent to the following description of children associated with armed forces or groups: A child associated with an armed force or armed group refers to any person below 18 years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking, or has taken, a direct part in hostilities. Source: Paris Principles and guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups, UNICEF, February 2007. Furthermore, according to the child right convention (CRC) a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. However, in Sri Lanka there was a gross violation of child rights by the LTTE during the 3-decade war.  The crimes committed towards humanity the LTTE significantly violated Child rights Article 38(3) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The LTTE employed a variety of strategies to enlist children for the Baby Brigade. Due to their youth, immaturity, curiosity, and love of exploration, youth and youngsters were vulnerable to the "Pied Piper "'s" alluring tactics. A compelling environment was established by public exhibitions of military artifacts, memorials, and monuments for fallen heroes, statements and videos, particularly at schools, heroic, beautiful songs and stories, stirring up feelings of patriotism, and the development of a martyr cult.

The horrors of the victims faced are unfathomable to most and bring many to tears. During their abduction, children were beaten, raped, tortured, and forced to carry out acts of violence against the military and innocent civilians. Once taken, children had no choice other than becoming a soldier or being killed. Parents were denied watching their children grow and lived in agony. The LTTE gave cyanide capsules and grenades to its soldiers, including children, with instructions to take the capsule or blow themselves up rather than allow themselves to be captured by the Sri Lankan military forces. After the war, many former child soldiers in Sri Lanka had wounded souls and exhibited a variety of post-traumatic symptoms. Their anxiety-related symptoms include intrusive recollections of the conflict, nightmares, emotional torture and emotional numbing, and a variety of other symptoms. Many stay away from places and discussions that remind them of their past encounters. Some kids may be unwilling to return to their home towns out of embarrassment or remorse. The LTTE must be held question to all the pain, and suffering they had given to these innocent children.

Although the former child soldiers did do their best to reintegrate into the educational system, there are several barriers that prohibit them from pursuing their educational objectives. They still carry some recollections of the war. Children are shown to be especially vulnerable to anxiety and mental issues. At school, some of the students struggle with learning. Former child soldiers exhibit a wide variety of learning issues, according to the teachers. They had been with rebels through important times and had regrettably missed a great deal of mentors' teachable opportunities. They were taught how to shoot and kill rather than how to read, write, and perform math.

 In this backdrop Sri Lanka decided to do what no military in the world has ever done. In an unprecedented move, Sri Lanka’s former President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared not to prosecute children who surrendered and offered 594 child soldiers a special Presidential Pardon, rehabilitated and instructed that they be given the education to which they were denied. For years, the Tamil children that held a gun were finally given to hold a pen/pencil by the Sri Lankan Government. However, it is sad that many of the powerful countries refuse to accept that Sri Lanka has carried out a successful humanitarian operation and has given back the rights of the children which was denied to them for almost 3 decades. The Protective Child Accommodation and Rehabilitation Centers for children are managed by the office of the Commissioner-General of Rehabilitation. The military remains involved in running these facilities. Both the former and current Commissioners General are senior members of the Sri Lankan military.

The Sri Lankan government took every possible step to ensure a brighter future for the children and graciously allowed the UNICEF to function in their capacity as a principal role in negotiating conduct ambitious program of activities to uplift the child soldiers. The government worked building mechanism to support the release and reintegration of under-age recruits to transit centers and then back to their loving families. The Sri Lankan government and forces continuously engaged in high-level meetings with the political wing of the LTTE, and its office in Sri Lanka has become increasingly outspoken on the child soldier issue, issuing several public statements calling on the LTTE to end its recruitment of children and release the children in its ranks. All the above measures which involved dialogue, engagement and pressure tactics on different levels to free the children under the clutches of the LTTE.

In a humanitarian gesture to not only to the Tamils but as an example to the world, Sri Lanka has said that child soldiers recruited by the LTTE shall not be prosecuted not be prosecuted, and instead made to go to schools. The gesture was announced by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa who said: “our hearts are not vicious. We will not prosecute children who are 12,13 and 14 years of age and were forced to take up arms.” “We need to integrate them into society after rehabilitation,” he said. The youth of Sri Lanka under went through several communal clashes and a 30-year war between the Government and the LTTE. These incidents have drastically changed and deeply impacted the mind of the youths and the torture children had to undergo as child soldiers must be addressed in an effective and efficient mechanism as our youth are the future of tomorrow. The youth stay with what we leave them with; our acts define their long-term reality.

The only skills the LTTE provided to the children was to learn how to follow a rigid schedule, starve for many days and operate weapons including claymore mines, AK-47 weapons, mortar launcher grenades, and other tactical weaponry. They received constant racial indoctrination, and the group placed a high value on their devotion. In Comparison to this the Sri Lankan government had provided all the Former LTTE cadres without any form of discrimination with vocational training while school children were facilitated to complete their secondary education. They are now into higher education, permanent employment and contributing to National Economy, enjoying and living in peaceful environment in their original Habitats with kith and kin. The Rehabilitation program in Sri Lanka not only for the children but also for the young adults commenced with the Sri Lankan Forces laying down their arms to take up a different role to right the wrong and do what was for the best interest of the country.

However, it is sad that many of the powerful countries refuse to accept that Sri Lanka has carried out a successful humanitarian operation to give back the rights of the children which was denied to them for almost three decades. The reconciliation efforts and hard work ensure make peace and ensure security to the children Sri Lanka will have a permanent peaceful and secure reality in the country and should be an example to the world.