Talk:Military use of children in Sri Lanka

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[edit] Old discussions

Karuna group figures Following is incorrect . I have deleted it because none of the references actually quote this figues.

The Times of London reported that over 800 children were recruited by the para-military group in 2006. Dutugemunu 12:33, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

I deleted a clause which stated that Allen Rock was seen pictured with two members of said society at Waterloo University in Toronto, Canada. Not only is the photographic evidence not sited, but proof that the photo is in fact at that university does not exist. Furthermore, Waterloo University is in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, not Toronto, Ontario... Which also discredits the article.

[edit] Leopard Brigade

I'm confused on the subject of the Leopard Brigade (unaddressed by both this article and the larger LTTE article). I've been finding conflicting sources as to the recruitment of child soldiers by the LTTE, specifically the Leopard Brigade. This article as well as this one and this one all state that the Leopard Brigade is comprised of child soldiers, while the wikipedia sources all state that the LTTE does not recruit child soldiers. Furthermore, the paper I read that mentioned the Leopard Brigade made no mention to the use of child soldiers and instead stated the the Leopard Brigade was 'an elite infantry brigade' comprised of fewer than 100 soldiers. While the aforementioned articles do not refute this data, they do provide information, that if valid, would most likely appear under the description of the Leopard Brigade. Any ideas? The freddinator 01:39, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Hi, the LTTE most certainly recruits children for their group and has been doing so since the war began in 1983. After the ceasefire was signed in 2001, the UN reported that they have recruited over 5000 children. (this is a pretty good article written by an international media correspondent in Sri Lanka about it [1]). I'm not sure where on Wikipedia you read that the LTTE doesn't recruit child soldiers, but that would be incorrect and it'll be nice if you could please point it out so we can correct it.

I'm not that familiar about the leopard brigade, but a Google search provided a lot of info. Human Rights Watch has reported that

"Children were initially recruited into what was known as the “Baby Brigade,” but were later integrated into other units. An elite “Leopard Brigade” (Siruthai puligal) was formed of children drawn from LTTE-run orphanages and was considered one of the LTTE’s fiercest fighting units." [2]

They would be a pretty reliable source. Also a book about the subject says

"In Sri Lanka, the LTTE created two armed units - the Baby Brigade and the Leopard Brigade - formed entirely of children." [3]

Just remember that unfortunately, not all sources cited on Wikipedia are reliable. Most likely, if it has the word "Tamil" in it, like Tamilnet.com, Tamilnation.org, Tamileditors.com, Tamilweekly.com etc, it will try to whitewash the sins of the LTTE (ie the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and deny they recruit child soldiers.

Hope that answered your question, if not please say so and I'll try to clarify further :) --snowolfD4^{( talk / @ )} 02:51, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Ahh, thank you very much. When I said Wikipedia had sources saying the LTTE didn't recruit child soldiers, I meant Wikipedia cited LTTE claims that they have stopped recruiting child soldiers (as of 2000, I believe), even though most sources say they are continuing to recruit child soldiers. Do you know if the LTTE is still denying their use of child soldiers in the "Baby Brigade" and the "Leopard Brigade"?

Again, thanks much -The freddinator 23:28, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I took off false claims that say "civilians have reported that ltte....". The article does NOT explicitly say that the LTTE has done this. It claims that the 'White van' Which again proves to be the karuna fraction because the article says that this has occured in government controlled area. Watchdogb 00:57, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

If we want proof of white van abduction = karuna abductions please let me know I will be only more than glad to show some.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Watchdogb (talk • contribs).

For someone who have commonsense can easily understand this, just after read the title of the ref.

I don't care or support to the karuna party, but since you loved to show what you have collected, could you show me those evidence? --♪♫ ĽąĦĩŘǔ ♫♪ ^{walkie-talkie} 08:39, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Don't really know how to do this but here is the links

http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/286 http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2006/09/14/disappearances_on_rise_in_sri_lankas_dirty_war/ http://hrw.org/reports/2007/srilanka0107/srilanka0107web.pdf http://chandi.eponym.com/blog/_archives/2007/2/8/2717602.html (last link has some detail about how the TRO workers were followed and then abducted by karunas in "white van")

On a side note these abductions have been taking place in government controlled areas and some have even occure in high security zones of SLA controlled areas. Many have blamed that the SLA has been working with karuna (including Alan Rock) and especially of Karuna fraction working in the SLA controlled areas. It is also notable that the white vans were reported to not have number plate and that they were not checked by the SLA soldiers. It then makes way for a very fortified bridge of argunment that the abductions must have been done by Karuna. Weather they work with SLA or not is a whole different topic. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Watchdogb (talk • contribs) 03:45, 9 March 2007 (UTC).