The following information was obtained from three of the speakers who participated in the 2 May 1997 IRB-hosted conference on Sri Lanka in Toronto. Joe William, the executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka and a CIDA development advisor in Colombo, stated that voluntary enlistment of Tamils in the LTTE is more common than forcible conscription by the LTTE into their ranks. According to Charles Godfrey of the Canadian High Commission in Colombo, forced recruitment by the LTTE is "not necessary" because so many people voluntarily join their ranks. Mayan Vije, coordinator of the Sri Lanka Project of the Refugee Council in London, United Kingdom, stated that schools in the Vanni are closed because of the conflict, and as a result the LTTE has little problem finding students who have nothing to occupy their time and are willing to join.

Vije's statement is corroborated by a 19 February 1997 LTTE statement, which claims:

[s]tudents in Tamil Vanni are gravitating to the LTTE's ranks in record numbers. Every day there arrives a stream of new recruits, with Puthukudiyir-uppu (Mullaitivu) currently generating the highest rate of new cadres. The general opinion among students seems to be that freedom has to be secured from occupying troops before any meaningful education can begin (Tamil Times 15 Mar. 1997a, 9).

According to the attached 26 June 1997 article from the Colombo Daily News, the LTTE is "appealing for reinforcements in the face of heavy losses inflicted by the security forces." The attached Sunday Times article also refers to LTTE appeals to the public for new recruits (8 June 1997).

Information on current LTTE recruitment practices involving women with young children could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Daily News: The Internet Edition [Colombo]. 26 June 1997. "Troops Repulse Massive Counter-Attack by the Tigers." [Internet] [Accessed 26 June 1997]

Godfrey, Charles, Canadian High Commission, Colombo. 2 May 1997. Information presented at the IRB-hosted conference on Sri Lanka, Toronto.

Sunday Times [Colombo]. 8 June 1997. Christopher Kamalendran. "LTTE Throws Crippled Men to Battle." [Internet] [Accessed 26 June 1997]

Tamil Times [Surrey]. 15 March 1997. No. 16. "In Brief: LTTE Records Continued Rise in Members."

Vije, Mayan, coordinator of the Sri Lanka Project, Refugee Council, London. 2 May 1997. Information presented at the IRB-hosted conference on Sri Lanka, Toronto.

William, Joe, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka and CIDA development advisor, Colombo. 2 May 1997. Information presented at the IRB-hosted conference on Sri Lanka, Toronto.

Attachments

Daily News: The Internet Edition [Colombo]. 26 June 1997. "Troops Repulse Massive Counter-Attack by the Tigers." [Internet] [Accessed 26 June 1997]

Sunday Times [Colombo]. 8 June 1997. Christopher Kamalendran. "LTTE Throws Crippled Men to Battle." [Internet] [Accessed 26 June 1997]

Tamil Times [Surrey]. 15 March 1997. No. 16. "In Brief: LTTE Records Continued Rise in Members," p. 9.

Additional Sources Consulted

Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. January-March 1997.

DIRB Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. January 1997-present.

Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) [Hong Kong]. Weekly. January 1997-present.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. January-February 1997.

Refugee Branch Asylum Division (RBAD), Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Ottawa. Infrequent reports. March 1996-present.

Sri Lanka Information Monitor: Situation Report [Colombo]. Monthly. January-April 1997.

The Sri Lanka Monitor [London]. Monthly. January-March 1997.

On-line/Database searches:

SHARENet

World Wide Web.