Sri Lanka military enrol pre-school Tamil children in Vanni

The Sri Lankan military's civil security division enrolled pre-school children in Vanni, forcing children to wear uniforms bearing the Sri Lankan military emblem.

Parents have been instructed they must send their children to school in that uniform, whilst being asked to pay 600 rupees towards the cost of it.



 Pre-schools in the region, which remains severely impoverished since the end of the armed conflict and affected by extensive militarisation, remain under the army's control.

The parents have urged the Northern Provincial Council's education minister, T Kurukularasa to take measures to ensure pre-schools are brought under the control of the provincial government.

Older youths who are unemployed in the Vanni are also being enrolled into the Civil Security Division under the guise of employment.

The once transparent militarization policy during the regime of former President Mahinda Rajapakse, is now being implemented through well planning and in an inconspicuous manner, parents said.