The army's move has failed miserably with not a single Tamil signing up at the two recruitment centres in the northern Jaffna peninsula till Saturday, the last date for doing so. The army has announced that it has extended the programme indefinitely and will keep the two recruitment centres at Ariyalai and Chavakachcheri open.

This coincides with the intensive recruitment drive undertaken by the LTTE in parts of the northern mainland under its control. Aid workers say the LTTE is preventing young people from leaving its territory.

The LTTE suffered heavily when it lost hundreds of its cadre in the successful attack on the Killinochchi army camp last September, which may explain why it has avoided any big confrontation with the army since then.

The move to recruit Tamils forthe army is part of the government's strategy to counter propaganda that it is a communal force, almost totally Sinhalese.

But the move was bound to fail. After years of military operations in the north and east which have left thousands homeless and destitute, and harassment of Tamil civilians by soldiers, the community is completely alienated from the ``Sinhalese army''.

``Successive governments have created a situation where the entire army is pitted against the Tamils. In such a situation, no Tamil will want to join,'' said V Anandasangari, vice-president of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF).

According to him, the move to have a multi-ethnic army would have been welcome had the government followed such a policy from the beginning and may even have changed the course of the ethnic problem in favour of the government. ``But now that they suddenly want Tamils in the army, it raises suspicions. What is the agenda? Do they want sacrificial goats?'' he asked.

The LTTE, meanwhile, is desperatelytrying to boost its manpower, an indication that it may be planning another attack in the near future. According to a report by a Tamil human rights group released recently, LTTE leader V Pirabhakaran severely criticised his propaganda wing leaders at a meeting for the low level of recruitment and gave them a time-frame for correcting it.

Since April, all shopkeepers, teachers and students have been forced to undergo compulsory military training. Shopkeepers who did not attend were punished by forcibly closing their shops.

The rights report confirmed a defence ministry claim that school attendance in Vanni had dropped by an estimated 20 per cent because parents were reluctant to send their children fearing that the LTTE may take them away. In one case reported from Mulankavil, a teacher joined the LTTE with his entire class of 20 students.

The report added that Anbu, the LTTE leader in charge of schools, had ordered all school children of 13 years and above to undergo three weeks of physical trainingfor one hour a day during school hours, followed by two weeks of training in the use of weapons.

Teachers have been ordered to undergo the same training after school hours and women teachers have been asked to bring along trousers and shirts for the purpose.

Village headmen have also been ordered by the LTTE to furnish details of families living under their jurisdiction. All those between the age of 15 and 45 years were asked to report to village camps for compulsory military training while those of 45 years and above would be exempted only on medical grounds.