Tamil tiger accused of abducting 455 underage fighters

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s government yesterday accused the Tamil Tiger rebels of abducting at least 455 underage combatants from government-controlled areas this year and asked the insurgents to stop the practice.

“This figure is based on actual police reports that were lodged after parents complained,” military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe told a news conference.”The figure will be much higher as many parents do not come forward fearing retribution.”The accusation came after the military said Tamil Tiger rebels kidnapped 16 girls, seven boys and two teachers from a tutorial class in eastern Ampara which is under government control.It was the latest alleged abduction by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who say they are fighting the Sri Lankan government to carve out a separate state for the country’s 3,1 million ethnic Tamil minority.The rebels said the teenagers wanted to join their movement and went voluntarily to insurgent-held areas.They were asked to return home after guerrillas learned they were underaged, rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said from the group’s headquarters in Kilinochchi.Ilanthirayan yesterday denied the charges of the 455 abductions of underage combatants this year.”This is a false propaganda being carried out by the Sri Lankan government and the Sri Lankan military to defame our freedom movement,” Ilanthirayan said.”When Sri Lankan government people and military speak about Tamil children, we laugh as they are the people who are responsible for the plight of Tamils in general and children in particular,” Ilanthirayan said.The UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, said Wednesday that the mainstream rebels are known to have recruited 539 underage combatants this year through Nov. 30.The rebel group has released 80 of them, UNICEF spokesman Francis Mead said.Nampa-APPrasad Samarasinghe told a news conference.”The figure will be much higher as many parents do not come forward fearing retribution.”The accusation came after the military said Tamil Tiger rebels kidnapped 16 girls, seven boys and two teachers from a tutorial class in eastern Ampara which is under government control.It was the latest alleged abduction by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who say they are fighting the Sri Lankan government to carve out a separate state for the country’s 3,1 million ethnic Tamil minority.The rebels said the teenagers wanted to join their movement and went voluntarily to insurgent-held areas.They were asked to return home after guerrillas learned they were underaged, rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said from the group’s headquarters in Kilinochchi.Ilanthirayan yesterday denied the charges of the 455 abductions of underage combatants this year.”This is a false propaganda being carried out by the Sri Lankan government and the Sri Lankan military to defame our freedom movement,” Ilanthirayan said.”When Sri Lankan government people and military speak about Tamil children, we laugh as they are the people who are responsible for the plight of Tamils in general and children in particular,” Ilanthirayan said.The UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, said Wednesday that the mainstream rebels are known to have recruited 539 underage combatants this year through Nov. 30.The rebel group has released 80 of them, UNICEF spokesman Francis Mead said.Nampa-AP