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Human Rights, Child Soldiers issue to dominate

by Rodney Martinesz in Berlin and agency reports

The contentious issue of Human Rights will dominate the fifth round of peace talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which begins in the German capital Berlin today.

The presence of former Secretary General of Amnesty International Ian Martin will be crucial at the talks.

The chief government negotiator Minister Professor G.L Peiris said "human rights issues will be taken up in and we will also discuss the question of child soldiers We will also discuss the nature of a political settlement."

He added that in addition "the preparation of a basic framework for Sri Lanka's participation a the international donor conference in Japan, fixed for June, will also be done during the current sessions." The government delegation will also be presenting a lengthy report pertaining to rehabilitation of the North prepared by the relevant committee to the LTTE at these talks.

He went on to say that a definite economic plan for the North and East will also be discussed and added that he and his LTTE counterpart Anton Balasingham will spend the next two months devising a pan to economically revive the Northeast.

The Norwegian-brokered talks were originally due in Thailand, the regular venue, but the "fragile health" of Balasingham, 64, prompted the move to Berlin. The duration was also cut by half to two days.

UNICEF is moving on the sidelines of the peace talks to try and extract written pledges from the LTTE that it will honour commitments not to recruit as combatants boys and girls below age 18.

UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy, who was in Sri Lanka last week, said the UN agency will hold fresh negotiations with the Tigers in the German capital on getting off the ground an "action plan" on children affected by decades of war.

"You are not going to have peace unless you invest in children," Bellamy said. "We don't believe you can have peace unless you involve children in the process."

UNICEF is keen to ensure that hundreds, if not thousands, of child soldiers are not only demobilised, but also sent back to school or some form of vocational training.

A written commitment from the Tigers during their talks with UNICEF would be seen as a breakthrough in the peace process, diplomats close to the talks said.

"Ian Martin will be available to both sides during the discussions here to take up human rights issues which will be a core subject at the talks," Peiris said.

The government and the Tamil Tigers have been observing a Norwegian-arranged truce since February 23, but Scandinavians monitoring it have reported more than 500 violations. The vast majority of the violations have been blamed on the Tigers who have been accused of over 300 cases of forced child conscription.

The LTTE had also returned some 350 child soldiers to their parents since November 2001, but UNICEF still had a list of 730 children who have reportedly been conscripted by the Tigers, Bellamy said.

Despite the setbacks in implementing the ceasefire, there has been relative calm in Sri Lanka, a popular destination for some 75,000 German tourists who visit Sri Lanka each year.

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