(C) SRI LANKA: INFORMATION REGARDING EXTREMIST

S E C R E T COLOMBO 000284 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016 TAGS: PINR PTER PHUM CE SUBJECT: (C) SRI LANKA: INFORMATION REGARDING EXTREMIST RECRUITMENT OF JUVENILES (C-CT5-00623) REF: A. 2005 STATE 211901 ¶B. 2004 USDAO COLOMBO IRR 6 816 0079 04 ¶C. 2005 COLOMBO 451 Classified By: CDA James F. Entwistle. Reason: 1.4 (B&D). OVERVIEW -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have a twenty-year history of using youths, some as young as 10, in non-combatant as well as combat and even suicide bomber roles. The use of underage boys and girls points to a systemic shortage of traditional manpower and an attempt to militarize all levels of Tamil society to support the LTTE's goal of gaining a separate Tamil homeland by violence. Both boys and girls are recruited, press-ganged or abducted into military service. The LTTE are known to interview teachers and review test scores to find particularly intelligent students. These underage recruits are sought for their ability to learn trades ranging from small engine repair to English and advanced trauma first aid. The Tigers often avoid breaking up young married couples and are known to return recruits that prove to be slow learners or disciplinary problems. Although there have been protests, particularly during the split between LTTE eastern commander Col. Karuna and the LTTE main body, by family members over the recruitment of their children, the Tigers effectively stifle dissent by intimidation, beatings and kidnapping. UNICEF operates one of three planned transit centers where child fighters are demobilized and reintegrated into society. Boys and girls are both subject to re-recruitment by the LTTE, with girls, whose short hair marks them as former Tiger fighters, particularly vulnerable. While the LTTE obviously targets children for recruitment, unlike other extremist groups, the LTTE does not make children the targets of LTTE attacks. WHY CHILDREN? -------------- ¶2. (C) The LTTE has used underage soldiers throughout its twenty year liberation struggle. UNICEF reports 5,368 known cases of child recruitment by the LTTE over that period. Unlike most other extremist groups, the Tigers are unusual in that they recruit equally among males and females. Furthermore, under-aged members, as young as age 10, of both genders have been used in combatant, non-combatant and suicide bomber roles. In March 2004, LTTE eastern commander Col. Karuna broke away from the main Tiger group with 4,000-6,000 cadres. After being defeated by the main LTTE group, his forces disbanded, releasing more than 1,800 child fighters. Extrapolating this one-time subset of LTTE cadres would indicate that the LTTE uses child soldiers for between 30% and 45% of their combatants. Based on current estimates of LTTE troop strength this could be as many as 3,000 - 4,500 child soldiers. The number of child recruitments reported to UNICEF has declined over the last six month, probably due to international pressure. There are several reasons that the Tigers recruit children. By recruiting these children, the LTTE forces families to become stakeholders in their conflict. From a tactical point of view, children and particularly young girls are less likely to arouse suspicion and might be searched less rigorously. LTTE propaganda justifies the use of females as a means of liberation and empowerment from traditional gender roles. Radhika Coomaraswamy, an ethnic Tamil and Sri Lankan Human Rights Commissioner who was recently appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Children in Combat, believes that the answer is much more simple: the need for a constant supply of fighters. GET'EM WHILE THEY'RE YOUNG -------------- 3 (SBU) Getting the recruits while they are young -- before they develop marital, professional or educational attachments or commitments ensures a steady supply of young bodies to fill the Tigers ranks. Broadly speaking, the LTTE uses four methods of recruitment; propaganda, revenge, skill building, and abduction. The Tigers have a highly sophisticated and well-financed propaganda machine. They produce posters, films, comic books, radio and satellite television broadcasts. (NOTE: Even the name has panache, would you rather be a Tamil Tiger or a member of the Tamil United Liberation Front?) Children in the North and East are exposed to a regular bombardment of special events and parades honoring fallen heroes and living Tiger cadres. Communities under the control or influence of the LTTE accord special respect to the families of Tiger heroes. Propaganda teams visit schools and temple festivals to extol the virtues of the LTTE cause and the nobility of sacrifice. Every November 27, the charismatic LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran gives his "Hero's (AKA Martyr's) Day speech, and every July 5 the LTTE suicide bombers are honored on Black Tiger's Day. Children are easily drawn to the status and glamour of wearing the striped uniform of a Liberation Tiger. A DISH BEST SERVED COLD -------------- ¶4. (S/NF) The abuses against Tamils over the years by the ethnic Sinhalese, particularly the Sri Lankan security forces, motivate many volunteers. There have been hundreds of well-documented cases of unlawful detention, torture, execution, disappearance and rape over the course of the twenty-year conflict. Even during the cease-fire, the LTTE plays up the suspicion of security force abuses, even staging the "disappearance" of a Jaffna schoolgirl in December 2005. A 1993 survey showed 25% of all underage fighters had witnessed violence against their families. Traditional Tamil culture "nullifies" a rape victim's status as a woman; these girls often try to remove the stain of the enemy by undertaking "a man's task". Families often encourage rape victims to join the LTTE since their prospects of lives as wives and mothers are essentially over. (NOTE: Sri Lankan radio intercepts of the LTTE Sea Tigers indicate that a woman helmed the suicide boat that sank the Sri Lankan Navy patrol boat on January 9.) LTTE cadres and civilians who have lost limbs or been partially paralyzed by security forces as well as rape victims are also prime candidates for recruitment into the elite Black Tiger suicide unit. Rather than facing the exceedingly hard life of the disabled in Sri Lanka, the handicapped can pilot a modified suicide boat or truck and die a hero's death. (Ref B) WILL FIGHT FOR FOOD -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The lack of jobs, education and development in Tamil areas, particularly in the eastern districts, makes joining the LTTE one of few viable career options. Compared to the hardscrabble life of a subsistence farmer, a career in the Tigers can offer three square meals, self-confidence, new friends and vocational skills. For some children whose nuclear families have been torn apart -- either through death or displacement in the conflict, becoming a Tiger can also provide an important sense of belonging. Interviews with demobilized child soldiers by Human Rights Watch indicate that some joined because they felt frustrated and powerless in their lives. Some left abusive home environments and others recalled not having food in their homes. KICKING AND SCREAMING -------------- ¶6. (C) The LTTE is notorious for press ganging or abducting children for military service. Pressgangs of as many as 15 armed LTTE cadres enter villages telling each family to supply one member for "the cause". These Tamil families depend on the father for what little food or income the family enjoys. To spur the parents in making the choice, the Tigers will often kidnap the father and hold him until a child "volunteers." Tamil children, particularly in the eastern districts are vulnerable to abduction while going to or from school. An LTTE recruiter or two on a motorcycle or van will roll up to children and force them aboard at gunpoint. During the night, the LTTE will often just walk up to a house, knock on the door and simply assault the parents and take the child. Hindu temple festivals bring out most of the Tamil community, also providing a rich opportunity for recruitment. In LTTE territory, the Tigers send overt propagandists/recruiters; though in government controlled areas covert "grab teams" operate instead. BEST AND BRIGHTEST -------------- ¶7. (S/NF) Given the aggressive methods the LTTE uses to recruit children, it would be natural to assume that any child who had a pulse would suffice. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the country director of Save the Children, the Tigers don't want "trigger pullers"; they want thinkers. Unlike other extremist groups, the LTTE fields a conventional army, a coastal navy and a nascent air force. They are trying to build a nation with all the support structure that implies. The Tigers seek intelligent and trainable children. Educators have described LTTE cadres demanding to see student records and test scores. Pre-teen recruits have often described being sent to "chicken units" where they spent their days in classrooms with female teachers and a curriculum similar to their civilian schools. After a few years, they rotate to military training. UNICEF and Save the Children report that voluntarily released children were either disciplinary problems or proved otherwise untrainable. Former child fighters described to Human Rights Watch working in administration, finance, intelligence, nursing, explosive ordnance disposal and heavy weapons system. Learning English is a pre-requisite for yearlong nursing and advanced field trauma training. (NOTE: Training materials as well as medical supplies may be coming from the Tamil diaspora, and instructions are printed in English.) Prospective intelligence operatives are screened by being given a mission to travel between two points and record what they see along their route.(Ref B) Those who write in great detail are dropped, while those who only write the most important details will go on to additional training. ADVANCING GOALS -------------- ¶8. (SBU) An independent Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka is the one and only goal of the LTTE, and they will do anything to achieve it. The Tigers have long denied they recruit children. When pressed, they provide a panoply of excuses; the children volunteered, a local commander was too aggressive, the recruits looked older, orphans joined because they had nowhere else to go, they are in non-combatant jobs, Tamil adults have smaller frames than westerners. The recruitment of children allows the LTTE to militarize families and villages and provides the Tigers with a steady supply of malleable raw material. The LTTE is particularly sensitive to international pressure. Following criticism by UNICEF in February 2005, the LTTE threatened to break its agreement with UNICEF. When later that month the UN Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, suggested sanctions against the LTTE, the Tigers were unusually quiet and let it be known they were ready to open a dialogue on child recruitment with Otunnu. (Ref C) BECOMING A KID AGAIN -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The GSL has delegated its responsibility for the protection of children and rehabilitation of child soldiers to international organizations like UNICEF, Save the Children and the International Labor Organization. Given the GSL security forces' numerous violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the conflict, most Tamils mistrust the government and the security forces. The dearth of ethnic Tamils in the police and Army only helps to fuel suspicions. The GSL lacks credibility with large parts of the Tamil community who doubt the government's ability to protect their children. For example in October 2000, 24 Tamils at a rehabilitation camp were murdered when a Sinhalese mob, with the cooperation of the guards, stormed the camp. The victims were former LTTE cadres between ages 14 and 23. Despite long and controversial public trials, there were no significant convictions, confirming to many Tamils their suspicion of the GSL's lack of concern for their safety. Former child soldiers often have trouble obtaining national identity cards from local government offices. The lack of identity cards restricts their travel and marks them as former combatants, exposing them to harassment by security forces. There is no amnesty program for former child soldiers, and some communities fear accepting former child soldiers because of government reprisals should the cease-fire break down. Some children are sent to live with relatives or abroad. Older child recruits will marry each other to avoid being re-recruited. ¶10. (C) In June 2003 the LTTE, UNICEF and the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) agreed to an action plan to stop the recruitment of underage fighters and to provide micro credit, vocational training, education, health and nutritional services and psychosocial care to returning child soldiers and their families. UNICEF is the primary implementation partner for the program as well as principal monitor. A UNICEF Child Protection Officer believes the LTTE agreed to the action plan to enhance its credibility as a political actor rather than complying with their obligations -- a position borne out by the LTTE's persistent failure to meet its obligations under the action plan. YOU THINK YOU'RE OUT AND THEY PULL YOU BACK IN -------------- - ¶11. (SBU) Transit centers for the release and reintegration of child soldiers are a key component in the UNICEF action plan to facilitate the return children to the community. Children at the centers have an average stay of one to two months depending on their needs and receive educational and psychosocial assessments as well as counseling sessions with staff social workers. The staff conducts home visits to assess the family's ability to care for the child. The most common concern is that children come from destitute families where they suffered neglect before joining the Tigers. After the child's release, counselors from Save the Children conduct home visits at weeks one, three, and six, followed by visits at the three-month and one year mark. ¶12. (SBU) Former child fighters are prized by the LTTE for re-recruitment since they have already been trained and indoctrinated. The child soldiers of the Karuna faction are particularly vulnerable to re-recruitment since government control is tenuous in many of the eastern districts. Only 40% of the 1,800 children released after the Karuna split in mid-2004 have returned to school, since they feel vulnerable while traveling between home and the classroom. In eastern Sri Lanka the LTTE launched an aggressive recruitment campaign following Karuna's defeat to re-establish control and replenish their ranks. This included village meetings, cars with loud speakers, house calls and even a direct mail campaign. Although the LTTE told UNICEF they were recruiting only 18 year olds, there was overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Statistics on the rate of recidivism of children are not available but the LTTE effort to abduct and coerce former child soldiers indicates that the loyalty to the LTTE movement and the likelihood of voluntary return are low. CHILDREN AS TARGETS -------------- ¶13. (SBU) There is no record of the LTTE targeting children in their military/terror operations and no indication that they will do so in the future although, of course, many children have been killed in LTTE attacks over the years. ENTWISTLE