Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday rejecting the photographs displayed by Channel 4 television station of UK which is alleged to be of Prabhakaran’s youngest son Balachandran, questioned as to how Channel 4 could say that he is in a bunker with the military by only looking at the pictures which do not indicate anything related to the military.

“They always cut and put these pictures which they have being doing for quite sometime. Who took these pictures? They never talk about the children killed by the LTTE and also about child soldiers who were trained to go on suicide missions as well as to munch a cyanide capsule,” he charged.

When questioned whether the Military had any information about the deaths of Prabhakaran’s family, he said that himself, the President and Sarath Fonseka were informed of such, only when those who were in the field had found their bodies.

 “It was a battle field not Manhattan Street. So we did not go the next day soon after defeating the LTTE, searching for bodies. We went to some areas after a few days, a week later and to some areas even after a month,” he said.

 “Most of the bodies found around the Nandikadal Lagoon were highly decomposed and badly wounded. Therefore it was difficult to establish the identity of each and every individual. You know that we could not even find the body of the most wanted LTTE Intelligence Chief Pottu Amman, who we know died during the battle,” he noted.

Finally when questioned as to how the government will respond to such allegations which continues to surface from time to time, he said that the Defence Ministry conducted a number of analysis along with census, which provided correct and accurate information.

“These people come with the same allegation in a different manner. The LTTE network cannot collect money now so they do these kinds of things. Who is behind such things, people like Fr.  Emmanuelle who has even posed for pictures with Prabhakaran and they still want to divide the country,” he noted.
He said that people know what the government has done before 2009 and after 2009. We lost 6000 soldiers and officers between 2005-2009 and after all people in North and East knows what they can enjoy now.

 “Anyone can walk freely in those areas even the President can, he went on the road when he recently visited North. You know that we can do ten surgeries at once at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, these are the facts that people who accuse us needs to know,” he added.

“Not even the TNA could go to those areas. Now anyone can go. Those who are accusing us should also know that we did not punish any LTTE cadre who surrendered to us. We are educating Soosai’s children and they are being looked after by the Navy- which was always targeted by Soosai as he was leader of the LTTE Sea Tiger wing,” he noted.

 “I have told the US Ambassador about what we have done and achieved throughout the last couple of years by emphasizing the fact that we need to look into the future,” Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said. (Supun Dias)