Related events
21 December 2007
6 May 2007
March 2007
24 January 2007

Extracts from UN News Centre report

"The 20-page report covers the period from 1 November 2005 to 31 October 2006, and notes that over these 12 months, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) received reports of hundreds of children being recruited by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and also Sri Lankan army involvement in recruitment of children by the Karuna faction.

“Despite previous commitments by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, that group continues to use and recruit children. In addition, a particularly disconcerting development during the reporting period was the increase in abductions and recruitment of children in the east by the Karuna faction, a breakaway group of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,” it states.

“Reports have also been received in Batticaloa District that on 14 and 26 June, Sri Lankan Army personnel carrying weapons, accompanied Karuna faction members who forcibly abducted and recruited nine children aged 14 (two children), 15 (one child) and 17 years (six children),” the document adds, referring to the eastern part of the island.

"In outlining his recommendations, the Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate end to the conflict, which has already caused the deaths of more than 65,000 people in over 20 years, while stressing that any peace settlement must include provisions that “ensure the protection of children.

“Although limited progress has been made in the release of some children from LTTE over the last three years, the refusal of LTTE to completely cease recruitment and use of children, release all children remaining on the UNICEF database and engage in transparent procedures for release and verification of demobilization warrants the undertaking of targeted measures against LTTE political and military leadership.

"He also calls for the Government to investigate immediately allegations that certain elements of the Sri Lanka security forces are involved in aiding the recruitment and/or abduction of children by the Karuna faction in the East, and invites UNICEF and other relevant agencies to help address the matter."

Sources
Sri Lanka youth ‘seized to fight’, BBC, 13 November 2006; Karuna Group abducts children for combat, Human Rights Watch, 24 January 2007.

Extracts from Report of Allan Rock, Special Adviser to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict on Sri Lanka

“As documented in the Secretary-General’s Report, the LTTE has been actively recruiting and abducting children in the northern and eastern districts of Sri Lanka for years. Despite having been repeatedly named by the Secretary-General in his annual reports to the Security Council on child recruitment, and despite LTTE’s own repeated promises that it would stop child recruitment and release the children in its ranks, UNICEF has verified, and the Secretary-General has reported, LTTE’s continued pattern of abduction, recruitment and use of children.

“The Karuna faction abducts and recruits children into its forces. It does so exclusively in the eastern districts of Sri Lanka. The Secretary-General’s Report disclosed that from November 2005 to October 2006, there were 164 reports of children having been abducted by the Karuna faction, 142 of whom still remain in its ranks. Since May 2006, the number of abductions has increased sharply. In the space of one week in mid-June 2006 alone, UNICEF received 30 reports alleging that children had been abducted by the Karuna faction in the areas of Santhiveli, Kiran, Mankerni, Valachchenai and Iruthayapuram (Manmunai North) of Batticaloa district.

“The fact that the Karuna faction has abducted so many children in Government-controlled areas in the eastern districts of Sri Lanka raises the question why the Government has not more effectively protected those children, investigated the complaints made by the children’s families, and secured the release and return of the children from the Karuna faction camps that are located in areas under Government control.

“Based on the facts and circumstances set out in this report, I have concluded that certain elements of the Sri Lankan security forces are complicit in the abduction of children by the Karuna faction, and that at least some elements of the security forces have facilitated and sometimes participated in those abductions.

“The complicity of certain elements of the security forces in Karuna faction abductions is common knowledge in the eastern areas where I traveled. The civilian population is in no doubt about why Karuna faction members (as described more fully below) work openly with Government security forces at checkpoints, carry weapons on the streets with impunity, and escape investigation despite many complaints to police and security forces about their involvement in child abductions.”

Sources
Dispute over Sri Lanka air raids, BBC, 15 August 2006; Not an orphanage but an LTTE training camp: Colombo, The Hindu. 19 August 2006, There Is No Military Solution to This Conflict, The Nation, 20 August 2006

Quotations

“You can’t expect us to pamper them if they come armed to kill soldiers.”. Keheliya Rambukwela, Government spokesman.

“The truth of the matter is that the structure referred to in the State Assembly Resolution was not an orphanage as claimed by the LTTE, but a strategically located long standing LTTE training camp, from which that organisation used to induct cadres for its recent attacks against the security forces and the positions established by the cease fire in the Jaffna peninsula. Firm and reliable evidence in the form of video footage through aerial reconnaissance, establishing the presence of armed personnel and the imparting of combat training at this location, has already been shared by the Government on August 16 with the diplomatic community and the media in Sri Lanka. The LTTE has a known track record of recruiting underage combatants and some of them could have perhaps been present, at the time of the sortie by the Air Force. The Government of Sri Lanka unreservedly regrets any loss of human life, including in the incident in Mullaitivu. It must be stressed however that the loss of life is brought about solely by the LTTE which has initiated hostilities, thereby compelling the Government to execute self defensive military measures in order to preserve the positions established by the cease fire.” Government statement, responding to the resolution pertaining to Sri Lanka adopted by the State Assembly of Tamil Nadu on 17 August 2006.

“My monitors up in Kilinochchi visited the area. They saw the premises that was definitely bombed by the Sri Lankan air force. I think we counted 12 bombs which was confirmed. They were mostly fragmentation bombs which explode in the air and spread out a lot of pellets or fragments. They were dropped at premises that have been or is said to be an orphanage although at that time it was not used as such because there were no children there. According to the LTTE, it was used to train young women in first aid. Nobody was left when we came to the site, but obviously people have been killed there. I cannot count the number. I doubt it was 61, as claimed by the LTTE for several reasons.” Ulf Henricsson, Interview with The Nation, 10 August 2006.

Extracts from the Press Statement of Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“Deliberations were conducted in a frank and constructive atmosphere, with both parties demonstrating their conviction that the peace process must be sustained even when difficult issues are addressed.

The main focus of the parties was on the need to ensure implementation of urgent humanitarian priorities. It was strongly emphasized that the significant political breakthrough made at the third session of talks in Oslo in December 2002, at which the basic principles for a political settlement were outlined, will be sustained through continued discussions on political matters. At the same time, political progress must be underpinned by tangible improvements in the daily lives of people. To this end, there is a need for more effective implementation by the parties as well as the speedy provision of funds by donor governments.

The parties recognized that the situation with regard to the High Security Zones involves major humanitarian and security concerns for both parties. Recent controversies surrounding this matter were discussed in depth. The parties did not reach agreement on the continuation of the work of the Sub-Committee on De-Escalation and Normalization (SDN).

Notwithstanding the disagreement on this particular issue, the parties emphasized the need for progress in resettling the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. To this effect, the parties agreed on an “Action Plan for an Accelerated Resettlement Programme for the Jaffna District.” As the clear majority of resettlement cases relate to areas outside the High Security Zones, the first phase of the Action Plan will focus on such areas.

Members of the Sub-Committee for Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN), representing both the GOSL and the LTTE, will meet with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) shortly to discuss UNHCR participation in effectuating this plan. The particular needs of the displaced Muslim population will be duly accommodated in the resettlement process.

The second phase of the Action Plan will focus on resettlement of IDPs and refugees in areas within the High Security Zones, as and when they are released by the Security Forces for resettlement. For this purpose, the GOSL will carry out a review with the assistance of an internationally recognized military expert, taking into account relevant humanitarian and security needs.

Following the strong political and financial support pledged by the international community at the Sri Lanka Support Meeting held in Oslo on 25 November 2002, the parties stressed the need for moving from planning to implementation of humanitarian and rehabilitation programmes. The rapid establishment of the North East Reconstruction Fund (NERF) will be decisive for the speedy disbursement of international assistance. The parties welcomed a decision by the Sub-Committee on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN) to select the World Bank as the custodian of the NERF. Furthermore, the parties confirmed the SIHRN as the prime decision-making body for meeting immediate humanitarian and rehabilitation needs in the north and east. The GOSL in particular undertook to ensure that the respective roles of government institutions engaged in the north and east are properly clarified and co-ordinated with the SIHRN.

In line with the agreement on basic principles for a political settlement, in which a number of issues were identified for discussion, the parties will commence a process for discussion of human rights issues. Human rights will constitute an important element of a Final Declaration. As first steps in furthering human rights issues in the process, the parties agreed on the following:

A schedule on human rights issues will be worked out following discussions at the next session of peace talks. For this purpose, the assistance of the agreed human rights adviser to the parties will be sought.
…
The government expressed serious concerns related to the recent incident involving transportation of prisoners through Vanni. The LTTE gave assurances that the case will be examined and that appropriate action will be taken as a matter of urgency.

More generally, the parties agreed to ask the facilitator to propose procedures to ensure rapid corrective action by the parties in cases of incidents that are or can be perceived as disrupting the peace process.

Following an agreement made at the third session of talks, a committee was established to ensure the effective inclusion of gender issues in the peace process. … The parties agreed that a Muslim delegation will be invited to the peace talks at an appropriate time for deliberations on relevant substantive political issues. …” Source: Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka website, 5 December 2003.

Related events
22 February 2002
16 September 2002
2 December 2002
7 February 2003
18 March 2003

41 people were initially indicted for the killings, but 23 were freed due to lack of evidence. Out of the 18 people who faced a full trial, a further 13 were discharged for lack of evidence. In July 2003, the remaining five accused were sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court. These included three residents of the area, Sub-Inspector of Police S. Jayampathi Karunasena and Sub-Inspector of Police Tyronne Roger Ratnayake (who was later released on lack of evidence). In May 2005, on appeal to the Supreme Court, the remaining four were acquitted: the Supreme Court held that the Attorney General had failed to prove the charges.

Source
Mobs kills Tamil inmates in Sri Lanka prison attack, toll 25, AFP, 25 October 2000; Sri Lankan mob kills 25 former child soldiers, Associated Press, 25 October 2000; Two Sri Lankan police sentenced to death over Tamil prisoner massacre, AFP, 1 July 2003; Bindunuwewa accused acquitted, BBC Sinhala, 27 May 2005.

Quotations

“The killing of 29 LTTE prisoners undergoing rehabilitation in Bandarawela under the security and supervision of the state is an appalling crime. … The incident demonstrates that the war mentality cannot be limited to the north-east theatre of operations. Unless the government speedily emphasises constitutional reform and a political solution, we fear that the larger society will be brutalised beyond repair”. National Peace Council, 27 October 2000.

“If not for the complicity of police officers, this would have been avoided. When the victims went running to policemen seeking protection, they were fired at by the police.” Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, High Court in Colombo.

Opinion
“In July 2003, the High Court in Colombo convicted two mid-level police officers and three local residents of murder and sentenced them to death for their role in the massacre. Still, it took another year, and much prodding by the International Committee of the Red Cross, to arrange for something resembling a proper burial. Yet without death certificates, the families of the ten victims still have not received the $2,000 government compensation awarded the other 17 families, despite multiple letters and personal visits by family members to virtually every government official and bureaucrat directly or indirectly involved in the case. … That said, the principal responsibility for the massacres of course lies with the Sri Lankan state, and here, despite years of studying and living in Sri Lanka, I was in for an unexpected shock. Last August I attended one of the final Bindunuwewa appeals hearings. Held before a five-member bench of the supreme court, the justices—addressed by counsel as “your lordships” and adorned in dark red judicial robes and stiff white collars—had all the markings of decorum. At previous hearings earlier in the summer I had been disturbed by the apparent sympathy of most of the justices for the arguments of the lawyer for the second police officer convicted of murder. (The first had earlier been acquitted when the prosecution admitted that its evidence against him was insufficient.) But the final hearing was truly shocking. As the solicitor general repeatedly referred to the ways the Tamil inmates had been murdered – “beaten, stabbed, and some even roasted alive” he would say with a flourish – one of the justices began to mock his emphasis on the word “roasted”. This brought much laughter from the other justices and the defense lawyers, and even, most disturbingly, from the government lawyers themselves. … This conduct was only the most grotesque example of the judges’ utter disdain for the crimes under consideration and for the state’s responsibility to determine the truth. The proceedings were filled with bad jokes and undignified behavior, lacked any sense of gravity of the case, and indicated no awareness of the state’s obligation to protect the inmates whatever their political sympathies.” Alan Keenan, visiting assistant professor of political science at Bryn Mawr College, No Peace, No War: Have international donors failed Sri Lanka’s most vulnerable? Boston Review, Summer 2005.

“The latest fiasco concerns the Supreme Court’s overturning of convictions in the Bindunuwewa massacre case. The Trial-at-Bar comprising High Court Judges, Sarath Ambepitya, Eric Basanayake and Upali Abeyaratne delivered death sentences on five of the accused in July 2003. Two of the defendants were police Inspector Senaka Jayampathy Karunasena and Sub-Inspector Tyronne Roger Ratnayake. By 27th May, 2005 the five-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices T.B. Weerasuriya, Nihal Jayasinghe, N.K. Udalagama, N.E. Dissanayake and Raja Fernando had acquitted all five on appeal. The bench led by T.B. Weerasuriya ruled that the Attorney General failed to prove the charges without reasonable doubt.” Bindunuwewa: The Thin End of the Wedge of Impunity, University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR), 12 June 2005.

Source
Children of North East trapped in war, Press release, National Peace Council, 27 October 1998.

Quotation

“Clear evidence of the recruitment of children by the LTTE has surfaced following the surrender of 26 child cadre to the security forces at Mankulum…There are further reports of the LTTE following a policy of conscripting children in the areas under its control to replenish its ranks in the aftermath of the costly battles at Killinochchi and Mankulam.” Press release, National Peace Council, 27 October 1998.