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VII. Re-recruitment

After Karuna’s forces dispersed in April 2004, an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 soldiers returned home, including large numbers of children. By early August 2004, UNICEF had registered 1,800 children who had returned, primarily to Batticaloa district. The actual total was certainly higher, as some families were not aware of the possibility of registering, were afraid to do so, or found it difficult to travel from their home to a UNICEF office, particularly if they lived in an LTTE-controlled area, or a remote location.

By June 2004, the Vanni LTTE forces had launched an intense campaign in the East to re-recruit Karuna’s forces. A UNICEF staffer identified two reasons behind the campaign: “First, they want to reassert control over the East. Secondly, they need to replenish troops after losing Karuna’s forces.”99 The LTTE visited individual houses, organized village meetings, used motor vehicles to make announcements from vehicles, and sent letters to demand the registration and/or re-enlistment of former cadres. Although the LTTE has told UNICEF that only cadres above age eighteen are being sought, overwhelming evidence indicates that children also were targeted. 

The LTTE threatened families that they would take children by force if they did not return, or that they would take other children or parents in their stead. The LTTE made good on these threats: parents described the LTTE coming to their homes at night and abducting their children, and being beaten themselves when they tried to resist.

One man told Human Rights Watch how the LTTE took his seventeen-year-old daughter one night in late July. She had been abducted the first time at age thirteen, while gathering firewood, and served four years in the LTTE before her release in April. The second time she was taken, he said:

The LTTE came to our house at night. There were about twenty. We had seen them in the daytime on the roads, walking around, wearing uniforms. Four of the LTTE women broke into our house and told our daughter, “Come with us.” She said, “No, I won’t come. I really suffered. I was wounded, so I’m not coming with you.” She was very angry and refused. They insisted, “You have to come with us.”

I said, “She’s a girl, I can’t let her out of the house in the middle of the night. I will bring her in the morning.” They told me not to interfere, and beat me. They took sticks from my fence, pushed me to the ground, and used the sticks to beat me two or three times. They had brought rope with them and had weapons in their hands. They pretended to tie me up and drag me.  My daughter then came out of the house. When she did, men took her and dragged her off. She was in her nightdress. She didn’t even have a chance to change her clothes. 

We never expected it. If we had suspected, we would have sent our daughter away. Previously, they had said she was wounded and they didn’t need her back. They were lying.100

A woman told Human Rights Watch that her daughter had joined the LTTE at age seventeen in 2003, returned from Karuna’s forces in April 2004, and was abducted in July 2004:

She had registered for school. The sister (nun) had told us to bring her on July 29  but the LTTE came first and took her.  The LTTE surrounded the house. There were seventy-five of them. Grandmother protested and said my daughter had a high fever and that she would bring her the next day. She said, “I already gave you my son and he died on the battlefield. I won’t do it again.” The LTTE promised to release her. My daughter said “Don’t let them take me away.” But they took her.101

Between April and August, UNICEF documented nearly one hundred cases of child re-recruitment, mostly from Batticaloa district.102 However, anecdotal evidence collected by Human Rights Watch suggests that the number of children re-recruited may be far higher. Witnesses from several villages north of Batticaloa town told Human Rights Watch that in some cases, more than a third of the returnees to their villages had been re-recruited by August. 

A man living north of Valechennai said, “There are ten returnees in my village. Four to six have been taken again, ages twelve to fifteen. Over-eighteens can manage and protect themselves from the LTTE, but small children can’t do anything.”103

Another person from the Vaharai area reported:

Forty people in my village went to the LTTE. Twenty people died in the fighting [in April] and twenty came back. Then the Vanni group took sixteen people—the people who were physically strong. The balance UNICEF took to towns. Otherwise the LTTE would have taken the rest as well.104

A third person from the Vaharai area reported that in his village, there had been eighteen returnees. He said, “The LTTE took back seven. Eleven people are in other places.... Of the seven retaken, most were girls and most were under sixteen. They took them in the nighttime. They were at home with their parents and the LTTE came and took them.”105

Human Rights Watch interviewed approximately thirty former cadres released from Karuna’s forces who had not been re-recruited. Without exception, they all expressed fear that they would be forced to return to the LTTE. Some children who worked in security or intelligence believed that they could be shot if identified by the LTTE.  One said: “The LTTE have asked me to re-join…. They send girls who were with Karuna but who now have returned to the Vanni side.  They say, ‘Come back and join.’ They don’t threaten to do anything as such, but they really frighten me.”106  

Many children said they were afraid to return to school, worried that the LTTE would abduct them as they travel between their school and home. Some refused to leave their homes altogether, while others went to live with relatives, moved to other parts of the country, or left the country altogether to take jobs in the Middle East. Some former cadres got married, believing that marriage would provide a layer of protection against recruitment (see further discussion below).

Seventeen-year-old Selvamani told us, “One month after the release by Karuna, they started re-recruiting. I left my village and went to relatives home two hours away by bus. I stayed with them for one month. I stayed inside the home. No one knew that I was there. I didn’t go outside because I was afraid they would catch me. I didn’t even go to the front door.”107  Another child said that, until she was taken to a safe home, she kept moving each night to different houses in her village to avoid being re-recruited.108

Sixteen-year-old Indra reported that after she returned home in April:

The LTTE came looking for me, but I was hiding in the forest. I slept in the forest close to my home, because the LTTE comes at night. The LTTE has come to my village two times. They did not take anyone yet, but they are looking. Someone else released by Karuna showed them my home. When they came to my home, no one was there. I heard that if the LTTE comes to my home and asks me to rejoin and I refuse, they have an order that they can shoot me. I don’t want to go back.109

None of the former Karuna cadres Human Rights Watch interviewed, even those who had previously volunteered, said they wanted to return to the LTTE. Many told us they found life in the LTTE too difficult. Some said they wanted to study. Others felt conflicted because of the split within the LTTE. Priya explained, “Earlier the LTTE was one group. Now it’s two groups. If I go with the Karuna group, I will face problems with the Vanni group. If I go to the Vanni group, I will face problems with the Karuna group. My family said I should not go with either group.” 

According to twenty-one-year-old Vasuki, recruited at age sixteen:

I don’t want to go back. I didn’t like the split but if there was a possibility of one group, I might go back. The Tamil people are suffering and they died. My family might not like it, but I think I have a duty to serve. This battle is between Tamils. I didn’t get in for this battle. It was against the Sinhalese. Now I don’t want to be part of this. The Sinhalese are not fighting with us. Now we are fighting with each other. I would like to be at home.110

In addition to visiting former cadres’s homes, the LTTE has sent letters to some, demanding their return. Santhanam, age seventeen, said, “The LTTE sent a letter to my house saying that I should return. The letter was addressed to my father and identified me by name. It said my father should come to the camp to discuss. But if he went, they would take me away and my family would never get to see me, so he didn’t take me.”111  Similarly, another former child soldier said that she received a letter at home addressed to her specifically, demanding her attendance at an LTTE meeting.  She immediately went and registered herself with UNICEF who managed to get her to safety.112 

In some communities, the LTTE organized meetings to announce that former Karuna cadres should return to the LTTE. One woman described a meeting in her village in Batticaloa district, held in late July 2004:

Last Saturday the LTTE held a meeting here and said that the ex-cadres must return to the LTTE. They announced on Friday at every house that tomorrow there would be a meeting. I hid my daughter in the back room and told them we would go to the meeting. There were two men. They didn’t say they were from the LTTE because we all already know who they are. They told every house that one person from each house must go to the meeting.

The meeting was held at the village school. It started at 8:30 a.m. and finished at 9:30 a.m. There were six or seven high-ranking LTTE at the meeting but more than fifty villagers attended. They said they have doubts about the ex-cadres and that is why they say the ex-cadres have to come back. They didn’t say where or when, just announced that we must give the ex-cadres back. They didn’t say what would happen, but we felt they would have another meeting. Earlier they recruited after having three meetings.

That night they collected three boys, all ex-cadres. I was afraid and hid my daughter. All together there are forty-five returnees in this village. But on that day, they only took the boys that showed themselves.113

Seventeen-year-old Nirmala described a similar meeting in her village, also held in late July:

The LTTE came back and had a meeting announcing that former cadres should rejoin. They said, “Those that have returned have to come back. If the returnee doesn’t want to come back, you have to give another child from the home.” People who went to the meeting told us. I was hiding. I didn’t go. About twenty-five people went; the rest were hiding. A girl nearby has gone back. Her relatives are very poor. Others have left the areas for safer places. I am the only one remaining.114

Risk to Siblings

Because the LTTE commonly demands the service of one child per household, many returnees expressed concern that their brothers and sisters might be taken in their stead if the former child soldier refused to return. Although most returnees clearly did not want to rejoin the LTTE, many indicated that they would return to avoid the recruitment of a brother or sister.

Seventeen-year-old Selvamani said, “If they try to take my brothers or sisters, I will have to rejoin again. I am worried.”115

Manchula, now sixteen, said:

I don’t want to go [back] under any condition. The problem is they can go all over and take children in public places, like when they go to temples. I am nervous that they will take my brother, so if that happens, I may have to go back. I have one brother and one sister.116

One mother told us she sent her sixteen-year-old daughter to a safe location to protect her from re-recruitment, but worried about her other children:

I’m afraid now because if I don’t give one person, they may take another child. Now that we’ve hidden one child, I’m afraid they may take another. I would like my younger children to get a good education, but I don’t want to give another child to the LTTE to continue fighting. I don’t accept this. I worry about the children. We cannot afford to go into town and rent a house. It is very expensive.117

Larger towns in the East are under government control and may provide more protection from recruitment. However, many rural families are poor and do not have the resources to move to town.

Another mother expressed a similar concern: “I am afraid my other children will have problems with the LTTE. I have only one son over eighteen. Now he is studying. If the daughter is missing, they might collect another person.”118

Fear of Attending School

UNICEF reports that of the 1,800 children registered with the organization after returning from Karuna’s forces, 700 were back in school by early August 2004. However, few of the children Human Rights Watch interviewed had returned to school, and many expressed fear that traveling between their home and school put them at risk of re-recruitment, particularly if their home was a long distance from the school. Some said they began to attend school, only to drop out once they saw LTTE recruiters along their route.

For example, fifteen-year-old Bamini told us:

After I went home, I started to go to school but only attended five days. Then the LTTE started re-recruiting. I was afraid they would take me while walking to school or come to the school itself. While I was walking to school I was afraid they would catch me. Everyday I saw them while I was walking. I had to walk three hours to get to school. School starts at 8 a.m., but we would only reach it at 10. For our safety, school would start late.119

Fourteen-year-old Aruna said, “I wanted to continue regular school, but I couldn’t. It’s too far. The LTTE might catch me while I’m walking to school.”120 Similarly, seventeen-year-old Selvamani said, “I couldn’t go to school because I was supposed to join Vanni’s group. Some boys were re-recruited, so I knew. I couldn’t go to school because I was afraid the LTTE would take me. ”121

Marriage

Many young returning cadres have married, believing that marriage will provide some protection against re-recruitment. There is a general perception that the LTTE does not recruit from among persons who are married (and for many years the LTTE had strict rules prohibiting marriage between its cadres).

One NGO reported that in the area where it conducts programs, about ten former cadres had married in the previous three weeks. The youngest were fourteen or fifteen years old, the staff told us.122 In another village in the Vaharai area of Batticaloa district, a man reported that of seven or eight returnees, five had married: “They got married after they returned because the LTTE called them again to join or said they would take them, so they got married.”123

Eighteen-year-old Nanmani said she fell in love with another cadre while in the LTTE. After their release, she returned with him to his home. She said, “The LTTE came searching for my husband about a month later [after leaving Karuna’s forces], but when they found we were married, they went away.”124 Nevertheless, she said she was nervous that the LTTE might return again.

Eighteen-year-old Tharini married just a month after returning home. Like many other former cadres, she married another former cadre. She said, “I decided to get married because I feared they might take me away again.125

One mother, when asked what could be done to protect children from re-recruitment, said that she hoped to marry her daughter off.  Her seventeen-year-old daughter commented, “This is a way to escape.”126  Another mother, who had sent her child away to keep her safe, said that if there was one more threat, she would marry her daughter off in order to keep her safe.127  Some children told us that if the LTTE came for them, they would say they had gotten married, even if it was not true.128 

A twenty-eight-year-old man told Human Rights Watch, “The only way to protect children is to marry them early. I also got married for my protection. This was in 2000. The LTTE captured me on October 27 but I escaped. I went to Trincomalee and got married there. Then I came back. I got married to keep myself from being taken.”129

One twenty-one-year-old woman who was in a residential vocational training program when we interviewed her, told us, “I don’t feel safe going back to my village. Today my parents came and told me not to come to the village. They said I was going to get married. Another young girl from here said she got married and the LTTE let her go. I don’t want to get married. My parents said getting married would protect me. They are thinking this is the solution.”130

One man living in an area where LTTE re-recruitment was taking place said that marriage did not always protect children. “The parents get them married to keep the LTTE from taking them. This is the only thing we can do. Then the LTTE won’t take them directly, but it will still use them for support. It may give them training and then use them in the border areas or in our own villages.”131

He also relayed that “[t]here were twenty-seven children in my village taken by the LTTE earlier. Twenty-three came back. Now two children got married, but the LTTE took five people again for punishment…. They took the two who married—a twenty-three-year-old and an eighteen-year-old. The LTTE asked them all to come back, and when they didn’t, they put them in a bunker.”132

Staff with one NGO commented that “[a] lot of these marriages are out of desperation.”133  One mother, whose daughter married another cadre shortly after returning from Karuna’s forces, said, “They married because they felt that if they were married, the LTTE couldn’t take them. Now they are separated because he didn’t go to work and so they had no income. I was supporting them.”134  After their separation, the girl’s husband was re-recruited by the LTTE.

Vulnerability of Girls to Re-recruitment

Virtually all Tamil girls in Sri Lanka, particularly those in rural areas, wear their hair very long. As part of their indoctrination, girls are typically given very short haircuts after they become part of the LTTE’s forces. So unless they were long-time LTTE cadres, the girls released from Karuna’s forces all had very short hair when they returned home and were instantly identifiable as former LTTE cadres.

Many girls are extremely self-conscious of their short hair and believe it increases their risk of re-recruitment.  One girl, interviewed in the safe environment of a residential vocational training program, said, “We want to increase the duration [of the program] to one year, because in six months, our hair won’t grow enough. We can be easily identified.”135  Another girl said that she had been threatened on the way from their boarding house to the training center, and wanted to know if there was some more private way to get to the training center.136  The training center is less than fifteen minutes away by foot, but long enough for these girls to feel vulnerable and exposed.

Many felt they could make no definite plans for the future until their hair grew longer. Eighteen-year-old Vimala said, “There are eleven members of my family. Only my father has a job. Because of the situation, I can’t go out to get a job at a shop or a garment factory. I have to wait until my hair grows.”137

Role of Parents in Resisting Recruitment

Several individuals interviewed by Human Rights Watch commented on the newly-emerging role of parents in resisting recruitment of children. Harendra de Silva, chair of the National Child Protection Authority, said, “What we didn’t see ten years ago, we see today. Mothers are protesting. Families are protesting.”138 A UNICEF representative said, “We see parents getting stronger. They were very strong and angry in April and May [during and after the LTTE split]. They said, ‘We didn’t send our children to fight with each other.’”139

A local activist in Batticaloa felt that the protesting by parents was a significant development, and that it emerged from two sources: parents’ fatigue with child recruitment and the LTTE’s lack of control over the East after the split within the LTTE.140

One girl’s mother, who spent three days with other parents at Santhanamgam camp in April 2004 calling for their children’s release, expressed her determination to protect her daughter: “I will try to hide the child, even if they shoot me.”141

One NGO representative cautioned that the activism of the parents might have been temporary. “When the children first came back, families resolved not to let the LTTE take their children again, but now fear has taken hold again. . . . In other areas, parents are beaten and homes burned. Up until now, no one has been killed. But no one wants to be that person.”142

Subsequent to Human Rights Watch’s visit to the East, local sources reported that due to continued intimidation, recruitment and political killings, parental protests largely dissipated.143



[99] Human Rights Watch interview with UNICEF staff, Trincomalee district, August 12, 2004.

[100] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[101] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[102] Human Rights Watch interview with Chris Watkins, Project Officer (Protection), UNICEF, Batticaloa, August 5, 2004.

[103] Human Rights Watch interview, August 2004.

[104] Human Rights Watch interview, August 2004.

[105] Human Rights Watch interview, August 2004.

[106] Human Rights Watch interview with “Kaveri,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[107] Human Rights Watch interview with “Selvamani,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[108] Human Rights Watch interview with “Pavai,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[109] Human Rights Watch interview with “Indra,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[110] Human Rights Watch interview with “Vasuki,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[111] Human Rights Watch interview with “Santhanam,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[112] Human Rights Watch interview with “Tamarai,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[113] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[114] Human Rights Watch interview with “Nirmala,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[115] Human Rights Watch interview with “Selvamani,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[116] Human Rights Watch interview with “Manchula,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[117] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[118] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[119] Human Rights Watch interview with “Bamini,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[120] Human Rights Watch interview with “Aruna,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[121] Human Rights Watch interview with “Selvamani,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[122] Human Rights Watch interview with international nongovernmental organization, Batticaloa district, August 5, 2004.

[123] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[124] Human Rights Watch interview with “Nanmani,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[125] Human Rights Watch interview with “Tharini,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[126] Human Rights Watch interview with Nirmala,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[127] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004,

[128] Human Rights Watch interview with “Vanmathi,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[129] Human Rights Watch interview, August 2004.

[130] Human Rights Watch interview with “Vasuki”, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[131] Human Rights Watch interview, August 2004.

[132] Human Rights Watch interview, August 2004.

[133] Human Rights Watch interview with staff of an international nongovernmental organization, Batticaloa district, August 5, 2004.

[134] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[135] Human Rights Watch interview with “Selvamani,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[136] Human Rights Watch interview with “Rangini,” Batticaloa district, August 2004. Several other girls echoed this sentiment during informal conversations. 

[137] Human Rights Watch interview with “Vimala,” Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[138] Human Rights Watch interview with Harendra de Silva, Chair, National Child Protection Authority, Colombo, August 4, 2004.

[139] Human Rights Watch interview with Christine Watkins, Project Officer (Protection), UNICEF, Batticaloa, August 5, 2004.

[140] Human Rights Watch  interview with local activist, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[141] Human Rights Watch interview, Batticaloa district, August 2004.

[142] Human Rights Watch interview with staff of an international nongovernmental organization, Batticaloa district, August 5, 2004. 

[143] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with human rights activist, October 19, 2004.


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