Sri Lankan govt responds to ‘cluster bombs’ allegation

The Sri Lankan government categorically rejected allegations leveled at its military forces following a latest news report on the alleged use of cluster bombs in the final stages of the civil war. 

The news report published by The Guardian has been based on certain material, including photographic evidence, said to have been provided by those previously involved in demining in parts of North, areas where fighting took place in late 2008 and early 2009. 

However, Health Minister and Co-Cabinet Spokesman Dr Rajitha Senaratne stated that many similar photographs had been put forward in the past and inquired whether the name ‘Sri Lanka Army’ had been written on the photograph of the cluster bombs. 

Firstly it has to be found out whether the photographs were taken in Sri Lanka and secondly whether it is the army or the LTTE, he told reporters on Wednesday (22).

They say it was found in the war zone but we don’t know who they belong to and how can you say at once that it was the army, he said. “The other thing is why didn’t they reveal this at that time. It has been around 6 years since demining was carried out. Why are they saying this now?”

Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media, Karunarathna Paranawithana, stated that this is possible an attempt to put the government in a tight spot ahead of the next session of the UN Human Rights Council.  

“The organizations carrying out the demining work have no moral obligation to reveal the information to media. Demining is a separate profession and they have no right to talk about it outside.”  

“We see this as something done to put the government in a difficult situation at a time when the topic of Sri Lanka will be discussed in Geneva once again, he said addressing the cabinet press briefing in Colombo. 

“However, similar allegations have been made against Sri Lanka in the past but Sri Lanka’s army is not an army that has used cluster bombs,” he emphasized.  

Cluster bombs are distinguished by their capacity to explode and release smaller submunitions that scatter over a wide area. 

Their inherently indiscriminate nature means their deployment in populated areas could amount to war crimes, as the UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, observed earlier this year, citing alleged incidents in Yemen.