“at any one time, more than 300,000 children are actively fighting as soldiers with government armed forces or armed opposition groups worldwide. Almost half of the states engaged in warfare in 2002 were reported to use combatants under the age of 15. Children under the age of 18 are actively participating in hostilities in more than 35 countries worldwide – most are between the ages of 14 and 17, but some are as young as seven” (The Inter-Agency Planning Consultation on Child Protection in Emergencies, 2006).

Debate raged in late 1990s about how to address the growing issue of children being used in conflict. The NGO working group in February 1997 issued a working document commonly known as the Paris Principles but fully titled The Paris Commitments to Protect Children from Unlawful Recruitment or use by Armed Forces or Armed Groups. The Paris Principles began the discussion in harmonization and creation of standards for groups working with armed children in conflict, and reintegration. The document also sets out an agenda by which the ngo group could advocate for the rights of armed children in conflict.

In April 1997, UNICEF and the Group of NGOs organized a conference in Cape Town, South Africa. The document that was produced from this meeting has become known as the “Cape Town Principles and Best Practices,” and was adopted at this symposium as the standard by which groups working with child soldiers or those groups working to prevent recruitment of child soldiers would focus their efforts. The main thrust of the Cape Town Principles was to encourage governments to:

Adopt a minimum age of 18 years should be established for any person participating in hostilities and for recruitment in all forms into any armed force or armed group.

Adopt and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, raising the minimum age from 15 to 18 years. (Cape Town Principles)

84 countries have since signed off on the Paris Principles on but other countries have refused.

It is important to understand why child soldiers are used and to explore ways in which child recruitment may be curtailed. The phenomenon is, however, very complicated. While some children are abducted and used by a fighting force, others join by choice. Given these realities the questions below may guide our discussion into the world of children in armed conflict.

Every citizen of this country can’t think like that as there is no equal rights here.

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Now that no LTTE to blame for every criminal activities by politicians, poor working class will bear the burden in the forms of tax increase, criminal activities, social unrest, job loss, cost of living, etc etc.

For SF & Co in the forms of intimidation, humiliation, undignity, power & income loss, even military coupe! etc etc

Same for MR & Co.

I am a Tamil who lives in UK. I have worked with different nationalities including Singalese and Tamils. They all have same day to day problem. They have to earn a living, pay the bills and look after the families. It is no different to UK or Sri Lanka. Kalag, you have shown absolute hatred for diaspora Tamils like me. We did not benefit from LTTE. We suffered from them ever since they started all this. They killed our people, they made others (both Sri Lankan and Indian army) kill our people. Don’t make a mistake by thinking the our people are only Tamils. I refer to all Sri Lankans. A big chunk of the productive young population is lost in Sri Lanka, in the name of freedom fight. Any of the Tamils who killed were refered to as martyrs and any Singalese were referred to as enemies. I don’t deny that LTTE collected money from diaspora. In most cases they were forced to contribute. That is why LTTE was banned in major countris. The guy called Kittu was packed up and sent back because he went little too much to threaten the Tamils in UK. Prabakaran once referred to us as “lost generation”. Then he wanted us to fight for his survival. Most Tamils in UK protested innocent loss of lives but LTTE managed to hijack that as its own. We had no control over it.
We Tamils in abroad are willing to contribute to the development of whole Sri Lanka. We are not a bunch of idiots like you to think that only way to develop our own community is to destroy the other. We know that Singala and Tamil communities have to be developped side by side. They have been dependant on each othet for thousands of years. That will not change overnight by fools like you.
Like it or not, the two communities along with others are in Sri Lanka to stay for centuries to come, even after you, MR, SF, RW and I have gone. The Tamils know very well that Singala people are the best of friends they could ever have. Just go and look at in Colombo. Singala and Tamil kids are playing with each other. Don’t poison them with your stupidity. I am not sure what exactly you want in Sri Lanka and for its people. It certainly does not look like peace. Sri Lanka and its people have overcome lots of disasters in their history. LTTE was one of them. The victory in the war will bring Sri Lankans closer ever more. If you have any sense in your head, don’t write any of those nonsense that you have been writing, even though you may have the right to express your opinion. But think about what it will do to someone who is not clear in their mind.
The problems between SF and MR are nothing. It will be over one way or the other in a few months, if not weeks. Only fools and idiots will think that Singala people will fight among themsleves over this. Why do they have to do that? Haven’t they seen worse than this? They are not fools not to realise that “in politics, there are no enemies, only opportunities”. Let the politicians do their job and let us do our job. Everything will be ok.
Remember, Sri Lanka is still a young democracy. It will go though its growing up process. Don’t mess it up.