Sri Lanka: 16 catholic Waisenkinder again freely
The rebels of the Tamil of tiger had kidnapped the children at the Stephanitag
02.01.2009
Colombo, 2.1.09 (CAPE) 16 catholic Waisenkinder, who had been kidnapped on Ceylon by the rebels of the Tamil of tiger (LTTE), are again free. The confirmed the Generalvikar of the Di zese Mannar, Victor Soosai, the catholic press agency AsiaNews . The twelve-year-old boys boys were on 26 December into the hands of the rebels please. The Tamil of tiger used child soldiers again and again from there it was feared that the Waisenkinder should be abused as soldiers.
First only on the website of the Ministry of Defense in Colombo on the kidnapping of the children from the orphanage in Dharmapuram one had reported. Therefore the version had emerged, it concerns a propaganda mesh, in order to blacken the liberation of tiger in the public opinion additionally. The telephone connection of the orphanage in the civil war area was interrupted, therefore the message could not be verified first.
In the meantime it turned out that tiger had actually attacked the orphanage at the Stephanitag. P. Arush Eric Roshan, the director/conductor of the house, opposed with the assault together with its assistant the militiamen. Thereupon the two priests were beaten up the militiamen bound the boys and kidnapped them. In the last days a group from 30 catholic priests the Di zese Mannar to the functionaries of the LTTE had appealed to release the children. The priests announced at the same time that they would step into the hunger strike, if the children do not become released.
The LTTE stands for quite some time under suspicion to use child soldiers . From 2002 to 2007 the LTTE is to have recruited altogether 2,000 children. After international protests decided tiger to do without the child soldiers . Prominent LTTE functionaries explained, most children would have followed voluntarily the rebel and would have given with the recruitment wrong data concerning their age. (end) |