Tamils deny recruiting children after tsunami

Tamil Tiger rebels today denied claims by the United Nations that they have recruited 40 children to strengthen their ranks since the tsunami hit Sri Lanka last month.

“We have not recruited any children. These allegations are completely false,” S. Pulidevan, a top rebel leader, said.

Yesterday, UNICEF said they had verified 40 cases of child recruitment by the rebels, one child as young as 13, and expressed concern that the Tigers had not given up the practice.

Pulidevan said there were scores of children orphaned or displaced after the tsunami who had sought shelter with the Tigers. The rebels run their own administration in the Tamil-dominated north and east.

“They had nowhere to go so they came to us,” he said. “We are in the process of verifying the children’s’ details and will hand the children over to surviving parents and the others to an orphanage.”

Pulidevan expressed regret about the UNICEF accusation and said if such hasty announcements are made again “it could damage relations,” with the agency.

Children accounted for a staggering 40 %, or 12,000, of Sri Lanka’s tsunami death toll of nearly 31,000. Another 800,000 people have been left homeless.

The rebels are known to recruit children – some as young as 10 – to bolster their ranks in their fight for a separate Tamil homeland. Peace talks stalled two years ago amid demands by the rebels for wide autonomy in the Tamil-dominated north and east.

Since the rebels signed a truce with the Sri Lankan government in 2002, more than 3,500 children have been enlisted by the insurgents, according to human rights groups.