 |
File Photo - LTTE Surrendies |
"They asked us to go to the front after 15 days of combat training" revealed 23 year old Pakyarasa Dinesh Kumar, a surrendered LTTE cadre. Dinesh Kumar (23) a father of one fled the Kadiraweli LTTE camp and surrendered to the Security Forces on 30th October 2006. Dinesh was just one of the escapees of the 16 that surrendered to the Selvanagar and Mahindapura Army camps in the Eastern province that day. He decided to escape from the LTTE fearing deployment in the front line. He knew tiger leaders were planning to deploy them to the front to relieve experienced cadres from fatigue. He was scared and worried about the safety of his wife and their 5 month old baby.
Forced tiger recruitment and training
Dinesh along with other men in Batticaloa were forcibly recruited for compulsory combat training by the LTTE. All males had been ordered to follow a 15 day compulsory combat training course. "All boys were ordered to report for duty six days of the month and no payment was made in exchange" Dinesh said. Hundreds of men like Dinesh underwent training throughout the week. On Sundays he was allowed to visit his home for two hours. Dinesh says he learnt to fire, assemble and dismantle a T-56 assault rifle. "If anyone was caught fleeing they would put us in a cell" Dinesh revealed. On a previous account the LTTE gunned down an ex-tiger cadre, Mailvahanam Kohulam for revealing the brutality of their hierarchy. He was shot dead near the Vipulananda School, Batticaloa.
According to Dinesh, the tigers kill the father, the main bread winner of the family and forcibly conscript the boys. This leaves the females of the family vulnerable to external elements. The family becomes insecure both socially and financially. This is a tactic used by the tigers to maintain their strength. Many boys and girls are forcibly abducted from their homes, while they walk to school or during religious activities. The Human Rights Watch, the largest human rights group based in the United States revealed in its report “Living in Fear, Child Soldiers and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka” that
“Tamil children are vulnerable to recruitment beginning at the age of eleven or twelve. The LTTE routinely visits Tamil homes to inform parents that they must provide a child for the “movement.” Families that resist are harassed and threatened. Parents are told that their child may be taken by force if they do not comply, that other children in the household or the parents will be taken in their stead, or that the family will be forced to leave their home. The LTTE makes good on these threats: children are frequently abducted from their homes at night, or picked up by LTTE cadres while walking to school or attending a temple festival. Parents who resist the abduction of their children face violent LTTE retribution.
Once recruited, most children are allowed no contact with their families. The LTTE subjects them to rigorous and sometimes brutal training. They learn to handle weapons, including landmines and bombs, and are taught military tactics. Children who make mistakes are frequently beaten. The LTTE harshly punishes soldiers (LTTE cadres) who attempt to escape. Children who try to run away are typically beaten in front of their entire unit, a public punishment that serves to dissuade other children who might be tempted to run away”
Apart from combat duties forced recruits are also used to gather information and transport weapons and detonate explosives.
According to intelligence sources fresh tiger recruits are assigned to carry out brutal acts of violence to make them inhuman and prove their allegiance in the eyes of their leadership. Most atrocious crimes against innocent civilians in villages had been carried out by teenage male and female tiger cadres.
On 18th September 1999 armed LTTE female cadres hacked and chopped to death 61 innocent Sinhalese villagers including 17 women and 7 children in Gonagala and surrounding villages in the Ampara district. The victims were dragged from their sleep and hacked to death using swords, some of them still lying in bed. On August 4th 1990 the LTTE slaughtered 172 Muslims who were praying inside a Mosque in Kaththankudi. More recently tigers slaughtered 12 innocent villages in Welikanda on 29th May 2006 and another 6 farmers in Kalyaniapura Gomarankadawala on 23rd April 2006. The trail of Tiger atrocities against innocent civilians seem endless. Many of these brutal killings are carried out by fresh tiger recruits who are brainwashed and thrown into the deep end for bloodying.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, better known as the Tamil tigers have massacred around 9488 civilians in Sri Lanka. According to military sources around 575 civilians were killed and another 596 were injured due to tiger atrocities since 1st December 2005. These tragic losses of lives and injuries to civilians are a result of suicide bombings, claymore mine explosions, shootings and offensive operations launched by the LTTE.
Preserving the hardcore tiger cadres in the reserve
Military analysts say the LTTE is facing a shortage of experienced cadres after Karuna defected along with his eastern cadres to enter the democratic framework. The LTTE is now deploying fresh recruits with few days of combat training to the front to face the brunt of the retaliatory fire of the Security Forces. "The LTTE is facing a shortage of experienced cadres, that’s why they are sending fresh recruits to the front. They may be preserving their experienced cadres for major battles against the Security Forces" Military Spokesman, Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said.
Field Commanders also confirmed that a higher number of tiger fresh recruits including children were deployed in the front lines during the Mavil Aru, Muttur and Sampur battles. Around 314 tiger cadres were killed while 244 were injured in these battles. In Muttur alone 152 tiger cadres were killed while 124 were injured. The Sampur battle also claimed the lives of 119 tiger cadres wounding around 100. Many of the dead were believed to be under aged recruits with two weeks combat training.
Analysts say tigers may be using fresh recruits in the front as they are relatively aggressive than the experienced regular cadres who have loosen up during the ceasefire. The military estimates the regular tiger force to be around 6000 to 8000 cadres. However, there is no independent verification of their actual strength. Their real strength may be only known to its elusive leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.
What is obvious is that eastern tiger desertion is on the rise. Many of the surrendered cadres who were under the media spot light during the recent past revealed the inhuman and brutal conditions under which they were trained by the tiger leadership. Most cadres escaped unable to bare the harassment of the tigers and due to the fear of being affected by air raids and Multi barrel rocket fire (MBRLs) of the Security Forces.
However, in Dinesh’s case he feared being deployed in the front line with only two weeks of forced tiger combat training. “I can’t go back to tiger areas. I like to work in Government controlled areas” Dinesh said with a hopeful smile. Who knows, fortune may strike him quicker as the Government has promised foreign jobs for ex-tiger cadres, according to Defence Spokesman, Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella.
Related Links
Human Rights Watch Report – Living in Fear, Child Soldiers and Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka
http://hrw.org/reports/2004/srilanka1104/
The Government’s Plan for the Increasing Number of Surrendering LTTE Cadres
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=1920#2
Former Tiger Cadre Killed for Revealing the Truth
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=1123
Two More Tiger Cadres Seek Army Protection
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=1995
27 Demoralized Tigers Surrender to Security Forces From 24th October to 30th
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=1898
Seven Tiger Cadres Surrender at Kallar Police Road Block
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=1831
Print
E-Mail Article
Part I
