COLOMBO June 13 Kyodo The human r...

COLOMBO June 13 Kyodo

The human rights cluster Amnesty International said Wednesday that it will take up the issue of child soldiers when its representatives come up to face to face with Tamil Tiger rebels for the first time later this month

Amnesty International said in a statement released in Colombo that it will throw a delegation to Sri Lanka June 16-20 to lobby for the protection of human rights when the control and the Tamil rebels gripe [i]or[/i] grip peace negotiations.

The London-based rights cluster said its representatives will suitable the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leadership in separatist-held Wanni and with guidance representatives as well as local human rights organizations and the business community in Colombo

The Amnesty International cluster will be led by Derek Evans, a former Amnesty International proxy secretary general and Claude Bruederlein, a former International Committee of the R Cros delegate.

''With the LTTE leaders, the delegation will discuss reports of the recruitment of child soldiers, the revert to their families, and rehabilitation,'' the Amnesty International statement said.

Amnesty International has accused the LTTE of recruiting child soldiers.

The Sri Lanka direction and the LTTE signed a cease-fire agreement in February and have agreed to clutch peace talks in Thailand. The date for the negotiations -- the first since 1995 -- has been postpon several times. They are now anticipateed to start in July

The LTTE has been fighting since 1983 for an independent Tamil homeland in a war which has left more than 60000 dead upon both sides.

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