'Don't re-recruit released underage LTTE cadres' -UNICEF

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 13:19 GMT]
UNICEF Friday called on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to ensure that released underage cadres are not re-recruited. “The LTTE must commit itself to not re-recruiting any of the children that have left the organization in the wake of last week’s fighting,” the UNICEF said in a press release.

”UNICEF has confirmed the tragic deaths of two child soldiers in the LTTE fighting that took place in Sri Lanka’s east last week. The children were 17 and 18 year old girls. The 18 year old had been in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) since August 2001 when she was just 16. Both girls were in Karuna’s cadre at the time of their death, but while any child soldiers remain in the LTTE they are also at risk," the UNICEF said in the press release.

”The families of the two girls are grieving the senseless loss of their young daughters. In the wake of this tragedy, UNICEF calls on the LTTE to free the remaining child soldiers in the organization, including those in the north, and to make a commitment to not re-recruit any of the children released in the past week," said the UNICEF.

“The events of the past week and the deaths of these children underline exactly why there must be an end to child recruitment in Sri Lanka,” said Mr. Ted Chaiban, the resident representative of the UNICEF in Sri Lanka.

The UNICEF said that the LTTE must commit itself to not re-recruiting any of the children that have left the organization in the wake of last weeks fighting, and that they continue the process of releasing the children in their ranks.