Sri LankaÂ’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are accused of forcing young people to join their ranks, ahead of a possible battle with government forces for the north of the country.
People in rebel-held Kilinochchi say that Tamil Tigers have introduced a policy of demanding one person from each family. In Kilinochchi market, farmers bring in their produce from surrounding areas to sell. Bunches of green bananas, rice and orange-coloured king coconuts are weighed on a large set of industrial scales. Here, as elsewhere in the rebel-held territory, Tamil Tiger posters are pasted to the walls. They show fighters carrying assault rifles, and slogans urging recruits to join.
We have brought in some practical regulations, because there were many cases of two, three or even four people joining from single families, says Tamil Tiger political leader, SP Thamilselvan. But now there is new evidence that the organisation is forcing civilians into its ranks. “I went home, but I lost my house,” says one man in his 20s who cannot be named for his own safety. “They asked me if my family had any LTTE members. When I said no, they said that I must join the LTTE, because each family must have one LTTE member.” The man said he was abducted and forced to become a Tamil Tiger fighter. But he escaped, and is still in hiding now. |