Innocent Tamil children in Germany being used for fund raising for LTTE

After receiving the green light from Tamil Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tamil youths in Germany launched a massive campaign to raise funds in schools using innocent young children for the publicity campaign. The Thamilcholai school chain run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has launched a month long propaganda campaign in Germany using approximately 6500 students of 130 Thamilalayam schools in Germany together with 950 teachers to highlight the so-called plight of displaced children in Wanni to raise funds in German schools. The LTTE cadres distributed a large badge with a colour photograph of a displaced child in Wanni and forced innocent Tamil children to wear the badge on their school uniforms and urge their German classmates to donate money for the welfare of the displaced children. However the funds will be collected by pro-LTTE Thamilcholai administration and the funds could be used for arms purchases and other destructive activities of the LTTE. Interestingly, the month-long campaign of Thamilcholai schoolchildren began on November 29, just two days after Prabhakaran's statement praising the activities of the Tamil diaspora youths. That was the first occasion that LTTE leader made a direct reference to Tamil youths abroad and thanked their contributions in his so-called annual Hero's Day speech. However, moderate and educated Tamil parents are dismayed at this campaign of abuse of innocent Tamil children and using them for political agendas. "This kind of activities will have an adverse psychological impact on young minds," said Ramsamy Suppiah. "I have two children aged 7 and 9 and I want them to grow up to be good peace loving members of the society. This type of brainwashing would impair their mental growth and LTTE propaganda of glorification of violence would be harmful to future generations of Tamil diaspora". In his Hero's Day speech Prabhakaran called on the "Tamils, in whatever part of the world that they may live in to raise their voices, firmly and with determination, in support of the freedom struggle of their brothers and sisters in Tamil Eelam. I would request them from my heart to strengthen the hands of our freedom movement and continue to extend their contributions and help. I would also take this opportunity to express my affection and my praise to our Tamil youth living outside our homeland for the prominent and committed role they play in actively contributing towards the liberation of our nation". Meanwhile, Tamil democratic groups in other European cities have revealed that the Thamilcholai schools in Europe have been instructed to launch similar propaganda campaigns in schools. There are more than 350 Tamil schools functioning in Europe under different LTTE front organizations and out of which approximately 90% are directly administered by LTTE. It is estimated that more than 20,000 Tamil students between the ages of 4 and 21 years are studying in these schools. LTTE uses the school curriculum to teach a highly distorted version of Sri Lankan history and brainwash children in their tender ages. In addition to inculcate chauvinistic version of Tamil nationalism, their mind-set is also tuned to hate Sinhalese as a race. Although Thamilcholai schools are registered as non-profit organizations and receive funds and other facilities from local governing bodies in order to run and maintain these schools, the school administrators collect money from students as school fees on a monthly basis on LTTE instructions.