Govt. dismisses SLMM claim on Mullaitivu bombings

by Harischandra Gunaratna The Island

* Reiterates it was LTTE transit camp, nothing else
* Offers to arrange SLMM inspection of site

The Government yesterday dismissed the SLMM claim that it visited the scene of the Mullaitivu bombings and reiterated it was an LTTE transit camp at Pudukudiiruppu, where 200 terrorists were killed and 300 wounded, by an SLAF strike.

Speaking at yesterday’s Press Briefing, Defence Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella challenged anyone to prove that it was not a terrorist transit camp and offered to make arrangements for Norwegian facilitators to visit the place.

Dismissing the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission’s claim that it had visited the scene, he said child soldiers conscripted by the LTTE were kept there to be sent to join the LTTE cadres fighting the security forces in the North.

Minister Rambukwella was responding to a query by a foreign journalist.

"The LTTE is making different claims at different times. First they said it was a school, then a nurses training centre and later it became an orphanage. They said it was bombed at 6.40 a.m.", he said and asked if there could have been such a large number of students at that time of the day.

Brigadier Athula Jayawardena said the operation was launched as a defensive measure to prevent further deployment of LTTE cadres to the Northern theatre of war.

Rambukwella also referred to a statement by the UNICEF to the effect that the LTTE has conscripted 1,347 children and they were being trained to fight. "To us they are terrorists and when they come to kill our soldiers, does the UNICEF expect us to pamper them. What matters is not their age or gender, but what they do".

Brigadier Jayawardena pointed out that the camp was situated in the thick jungle where there is no human habitation. He asked whether any sane person could think that a school was situated in such a place. "The camp is built under a jungle canopy and heavily fortified with a parapet wall around the perimeter, with military facilities including a firing range and armoury," Jayawardena explained

Air Force spokesman, Group Captain Ajantha Silva denied it was an indiscriminate bombing. "Security forces had been monitoring this camp since 2004 and did target analysis. "We did not rely on aerial photographs only. We have also been gathering intelligence on the target and it is certain that it was a LTTE military camp," he said.