SL forces never used chemical weapons or cluster bombs-Ruwan

10 January 2019 03:44 am

Refuting the claims made by several Tamil politicians that Sri Lankan security forces used chemical weapons and cluster bombs during the war in the North, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene yesterday said there is no evidence to back up these allegations.

Mr. Wijewardene told Parliament that such allegations are being made by a group of Tamil politicians including Former Chief Minister of the Northern Province C. V. Wigneswaran. "These politicians have embraced communalism,” Mr. Wijewardene said.

He said there is no need for an international probe to determine whether cluster bombs and chemical weapons were used as no such thing had taken place. “We are capable of conducting our own probe into allegations such as these, but there is no such need,” he said.

“It is the security forces which saved the lives of people living in the North during the recent bad weather that was experienced and provided them relief,” he added.

Mr. Wijewardene said the allegation made by some UPFA MPs that the government was dancing to the tune of the international community is also false. “We don’t work for the international community, we work for the betterment of the people of this country,” he said. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)