 |
|
|
|
| News Stories |
|
|
|
Home Mail2Lanka News Sports World Previous Stories |
Though the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam recently announced that they released 12 child soldiers they had kidnapped, reports continue to flow in that they are continuously engaged in kidnapping children to be recruited to their fighting forces against the will of those children. One escaped child soldier told police that he saw nearly 500 children being trained in a LTTE facility, at Kudimbimalai in Eastern Province. The mother of Pugali Rajini , a13 year old girl at first complained that her daughter was missing from the Unit 2 of the Poonthottam Refugee Camp since September 4, 2002. Then the mother V. Selvarani told police that in a subsequent search she had found that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had taken her daughter away. The Tamil Tigers who originally did kidnap children from areas under their control started kidnappings in areas under the control of the Sri Lanka government after they signed a memorandum of Understanding with the Ranil Wickremesinghe government. Meanwhile child soldiers continued to escape from the grim conditions of the military camps in which they were being trained. Security reports said two teenagers who escaped from LTTE arrived at their homes in Batticaloa on September 2 . The teenagers, Kanapathi Pillai Vijitha (17), and K.Rajeshwary (19) are from Kokkadicholai North , Ambalanthurai in kalawanchikudi. They reportedly said they were held in a LTTE training camp in Karaveddy. The two teenagers were handed over to Batticaloa police station for protection , a security report said. Security reports also revealed that the LTTE was increasingly using the newly opened Badulla- Chekaladi highway to abduct Tamil youth of Indian origin from the tea estates in Badulla district. An abducted Indian origin Tamil called Sivam , a resident in Attampitiya Estate in Hali Ela ran away from his Eastern Province training camp in Kokkadicholai and surrendered to Bogamuwa special Task force, August 20. A 13 year old girl, named by the LTTE as Gowri surrendered to the police station at Batticaloa. She said she was kidnapped by the LTTE one year ago from kalawanchikudy . She had been severely injured due to torture, she complained. N Rajadurai of Akkaraipattu in the Eastern province reported that his 19-year old daughter Padmawathie was abducted by LTTE , August 16, while she was returning home from a tuition class. She was suspected of being taken to a training camp in Thirukkovil. Two families living in Morakottanchenai 24 kilometers north West of Batticaloa had vacated their houses and fled to safer places , August 13, 2002 to save their children from LTTE abductors. The families of Sinnathamby Bathivai of Main Road , Morakottanchenai and Velu of Poovar Street of Devapuram , Morakottanchenai left their homes and fled for protection in the homes of next of kin security reports said. After their departure the LTTE have occupied their houses. B.S.Raveendran (21) an abducted man by the LTTE and conscripted to their fighting forces escaped from a LTTE military camp surrendered to the International Committee of Red Cross . He said he was abducted December 9 2000 and stayed in military training for six months. A thirteen year old child ,Vedanayagam Kawrisan of kumara kala Mandhar Road , Kalawanchikudi, Batticaloa escaped from his tormentors, the LTTE and reached the Kathankudi police station after escaping from a Tiger camp , August 10, 2002. He said, he saw 400-500 children being trained at Kudimbimalai LTTE camp. (EOM) (02/09/07 go2lanka.com) |