Colombo: Sources from the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka say that the newly elected Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan and his party, Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) are under pressure due to the parents’ appeal to return their offspring enlisted by it.
A chaotic situation erupted recently in Vakarai in Batticaloa district where angry mobs threw stones at the Chief Minister after raising the issue of return of their children recruited by the TMVP.
TMVP, an offshoot of secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), supported state military to oust the parent organization from its bases in the Eastern Province. Both LTTE and TMVP were accused by UNICEF and other human rights bodies for child soldier recruitment.
However, sources in the Eastern Province do not rule out the probability of LTTE being behind the agitations by the parents.