US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1113

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001113 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/INS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, SOCI, PTER, CE, LTTE - Peace Process, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: UNICEF SEES DECLINE IN LTTE RECRUIMENT OF CHILDREN 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U)  The recruitment of child soldiers by the Liberation 
Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) has significantly and steadily 
declined since January, according to reports received by the 
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).  The LTTE recently 
renewed its promise to halt underage recruiting in a June 18 
meeting with the Executive Director of UNICEF, Anne Veneman. 
It is unclear whether the decrease in child recruitment 
signals a new effort by the LTTE to respond to international 
pressure or if fewer parents are reporting the recruitment 
of their children to UNICEF.  A real decline in LTTE child 
recruitment would be a striking improvement in human rights 
for the children of Sri Lanka and could signal a Tiger bid 
to burnish its respectability in the international 
community.  End summary. 
 
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UNICEF RECEIVES FEWER REPORTS 
OF UNDERAGE LTTE ENLISTEES 
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2.  (SBU)  There has been a marked decline in the number of 
reports UNICEF has received regarding child recruitment by 
the LTTE this year.  According to UNICEF figures, the LTTE 
recruited 156 children in the first five months of this 
year, including nine children from tsunami relief camps. 
This is noticeably less than the 440 boys and girls enlisted 
during the corresponding period in 2003 and the 400 
recruited in January through May of last year, as noted in a 
UNICEF press release.  UNICEF bases its information on 
verifiable reports received primarily from parents.  [Note: 
UNICEF estimates that it receives reports of only 30% of the 
actual total cases of underage recruitment.]  Christine 
Watkins, UNICEF Project Officer, told poloffs in a June 15 
meeting that there is often a lag in reports of recruitment 
and releases so it is difficult to know precisely the amount 
of children serving in the LTTE at a given period in time. 
Watkins told poloffs that recruitment tends to be cyclical, 
with an increase in enlistment every three to four months 
that tapers off, corresponding to the beginning of new LTTE 
training sessions.  There remain 1,174 total outstanding 
cases of child soldier recruitment reported to UNICEF. 
 
3.  (U)  The Executive Director of UNICEF, Ann Veneman, met 
with LTTE political wing leader, S.P. Thamilselvam on June 
18 to discuss the enlistment of underage cadres by the LTTE. 
Thamilselvam renewed the LTTE promise to halt the 
recruitment of children and reassured Veneman of the rebel 
group's willingness to cooperate with UNICEF to meet this 
objective. (The Tigers have long held that all the children 
serving in the LTTE join voluntarily, and that it cannot 
turn them away, saying that these children come from abusive 
families or are malnourished.)  The Tamil Tigers have 
recruited fewer children this year due to international 
pressure, according to a UNICEF press statement following 
the June 18 meeting. 
 
 
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IS THERE REALLY A DECLINE 
IN LTTE CHILD RECRUITMENT? 
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4.  (SBU)  UNICEF Officer Watkins was unsure of the reason 
for the decline.  However, she believes that improved 
monitoring and public awareness may play a role.  For 
example, Watkins told us that the most popular place to 
recruit underage cadres is at temple festivals.  UNICEF and 
other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been 
teaming up to deter LTTE child recruitment at these 
religious events, she explained. As a result, the number of 
children enlisted by the LTTE at temple festivals has been 
reportedly reduced to zero, Watkins informed poloff. 
 
5.  (SBU)  Watkins noted that the majority of reports of 
underage recruitment UNICEF receives come from government- 
controlled areas.  She suggested fear of the LTTE and 
inadequate local transportation as partial reasons that 
fewer parents in rebel-controlled areas complain to UNICEF. 
6.  (SBU)  The LTTE claims that it has released all of its 
known child soldiers, but states that some of its enlistees 
do not have birth certificates.  Watkins remarked that the 
roster of LTTE child soldiers is incomplete and inaccurate, 
which creates difficulty for UNICEF as it works to verify 
those released or serving as Tigers.  UNICEF will only take 
a reported recruit off its list if it can verify the release 
through confirmation by recruits or their family members 
during home visits.  Watkins told us that the transit center 
for former LTTE child soldiers in Killinochchi has been 
closed since few underage cadres are directly released to 
UNICEF, while the other two transit centers never opened. 
UNICEF was meeting with other concerned groups on June 15 to 
discuss alternative uses for the transit centers.  Watkins 
predicts the transit centers may be used for vocational 
training. 
 
7.  (SBU)  Anne Killingstad, Program Manager at Save the 
Children, said it is difficult to tell if the recent decline 
in LTTE child recruitment will continue.  In a June 16 
meeting, she told us that the LTTE has been relatively well 
organized in its post-tsunami efforts, particularly in 
Mullaitivu, where UNICEF received no reports of child 
recruitment in May. 
 
8.  (SBU)  Hagrup Haukland, Chief of Mission of the Sri 
Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), said to poloff in a June 21 
conversation that it is difficult to draw any conclusions 
about the recent decline in reports received by UNICEF. 
SLMM has also seen a substantial decline in reports this 
year in comparison to last year, according to SLMM 
statistics.  In January to May, SLMM received 74 complaints, 
while in this same period in 2004 SLMM received 173 
recruitment cases.  The number of verified child 
recruitments and abductions is approximately the same 
proportion to the number of reports received in the first 
five months of both 2004 and 2005. This suggests that 
although fewer reports have been filed in 2005, 
approximately the same ratio of LTTE abductions and 
recruitments are carried out as before. 
 
9.  (SBU)  Yasantha Kodagoda, Senior State Counsel of the 
Attorney General's Office in Colombo, told us that according 
to reports issued by parents of child soldiers to senior 
police officers and the Special Task Force in the East, 
child recruitment by the LTTE has only minimally decreased. 
He believes that the decrease in reports to UNICEF by 
parents is due to two different reasons.  First, parents are 
less concerned that their children will be killed as members 
of the LTTE since the LTTE is not currently engaged in armed 
conflict; thus, they are not complaining.  Second, he 
speculated, the Tamil Tigers have more time to suppress any 
adults who would challenge their child recruiting practices 
since the rebel group is not actively fighting the Sri Lanka 
Army (SLA). 
 
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COMMENT 
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10. (SBU)  Undoubtedly, the number of reported recruitments 
of underage cadres has always been less than the actual 
total of LTTE child recruits.  There is not enough 
information at this time to draw any conclusions as to 
whether the enlistment of underage cadres has actually 
declined or whether (and why) fewer parents are reporting 
the recruitment of their children if underage enlistment has 
not decreased.  We will continue to support UNICEF and other 
groups in their efforts to monitor child recruitment and to 
get the LTTE to honor its 2003 agreement with UNICEF to turn 
over all child soldiers and desist from further recruitment.