Sri Lankans urged to multiply for war

Sri Lanka wants to swell the ranks of its army

The Sri Lankan Government is urging people to have larger families, to swell the ranks of the army and the clergy.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said it was time to ignore the Small is Beautiful family planning programme established in the 1970s.

Concentrate on producing more children

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake

He said the low birth-rate meant fewer recruits for the army, handicapping its fight against separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

Sri Lanka's family planning policy is widely regarded as a success story.

But, speaking at a Buddhist ceremony, Mr Wickremanayake said people should concentrate on having more children.

"It is time for people to think that big is better."

He said his campaign to enlist 10,000 additional soldiers and 2,000 Buddhist monks had failed because people had opted for smaller families.

An official newspaper says the government now plans special bonuses for families with more than two children.

Successful policy

The BBC's Frances Harrison in Colombo says the prime minister has a reputation for making controversial statements.

The PM is known for making controversial statements

The country's Family Planning Association says it is unsure what the prime minister's statement is supposed to imply, and hopes it will not translate into action.

An estimated 63,000 people have been killed during the course of the long-running civil war.

Our correspondent says the poor response to the army's recruitment drive has more to do with the fact that the conflict has lasted this long, rather than the size of the population.

The United Nations Population Fund holds Sri Lanka as a prime example of a successful family planning campaign.

Started in the 1970s, the Small is Beautiful campaign distributed condoms and gave incentives to people undergoing sterilisation.

Sri Lanka has a population of 20 million people, with an annual growth rate of 1.4%. Life expectancy is more than 70 years.