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British officials discuss human rights with LTTE rebels
Colombo, Sept 27: Officials from the British High Commission to Sri Lanka visited the volatile east and met with Tamil Tiger rebels to discuss allegations of human rights abuses, a report said today.
Colombo, Sept 27: Officials from the British High Commission to Sri Lanka visited the volatile east and met with Tamil Tiger rebels to discuss allegations of human rights abuses, a report said today.
A group led by embassy official Margaret Tongue held
talks yesterday with Bawa, the rebels' political leader in
Ampara district, 200 kilometers east of Colombo, the Tamilnet
web site reported. Bawa uses only one name.
They discussed allegations that the rebels have levied illegal taxes, recruited child soldiers and killed political opponents, the report said.
Bawa admitted that the Tigers' tax system has prevailed from the group's early days and is applied in "areas in their administrative control without any discrimination," the report said.
But he denied charges of child conscription and political murders, blaming the accusations on "anti-peace elements”.
The British High Commission had no immediate comment.
Human rights groups have accused the rebels of killing 35 political opponents since they signed a Norway-brokered cease-fire with the government in February 2002. The United Nations Children's Fund has said that it continues to receive complaints of child recruitment despite the rebels' promise to halt the practice.
Security in the district has been volatile since the truce, with Muslim residents accusing the rebels of illegal taxation, abduction and killings. Most of Sri Lanka's 1.7 million Muslims are concentrated in the east. Bureau Report
They discussed allegations that the rebels have levied illegal taxes, recruited child soldiers and killed political opponents, the report said.
Bawa admitted that the Tigers' tax system has prevailed from the group's early days and is applied in "areas in their administrative control without any discrimination," the report said.
But he denied charges of child conscription and political murders, blaming the accusations on "anti-peace elements”.
The British High Commission had no immediate comment.
Human rights groups have accused the rebels of killing 35 political opponents since they signed a Norway-brokered cease-fire with the government in February 2002. The United Nations Children's Fund has said that it continues to receive complaints of child recruitment despite the rebels' promise to halt the practice.
Security in the district has been volatile since the truce, with Muslim residents accusing the rebels of illegal taxation, abduction and killings. Most of Sri Lanka's 1.7 million Muslims are concentrated in the east. Bureau Report