Tamils call for mine-making inquiry

Activists have accused the Sri Lankan military of manufacturing parts for landmines while the Government was involved in an internationally sponsored ceasefire with Tamil rebels and receiving millions of dollars in aid for de-mining projects.

The Tamil activists claim to have classified documents that show the Sri Lankan military sought tenders from suppliers in Colombo and bought parts to produce remote-control detonators for Claymore anti-personnel mines. The documents, which have been seen by the Independent but which cannot be independently verified, have been dismissed by the military as fake.

According to experts, the use of Claymore mines detonated by remote control would not be in breach of the Ottawa Treaty of 1997. However, the activists claim that given Sri Lanka has always denied it manufactured parts for anti-personnel mines, there should be an investigation into the claims.

The Rev SJ Emmanuel, president of the Global Tamil Forum, which said it obtained the documents from a senior Sri Lankan military source, asked that a panel established by the United Nations examine whether both the army and Tamil rebels manufactured mines.

"How much more evidence do we have to produce for the international community to act upon?" he asked.

The documents date from 2006, when the Sri Lankan authorities were involved in a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire with the Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). One says: "Project D2 is a remote control device which is designed to detonate Clamor mine using a T7G and R7G transmitter receiver modules."

Others detail a list of 42 items required to manufacture the devices. Another document appears to be an invoice from a supplier in Colombo made out to the Sri Lanka Signal Corp and dated August 8, 2006, for 398,393 Sri Lankan rupees ($4600).

At the time, Sri Lanka was receiving considerable sums for projects to clear hundreds of thousands of mines, the legacy of a decades-long conflict with the LTTE, which began a war to secure a separate Tamil homeland.

In 2004, Sri Lanka received around £15 million ($30 million) for de-mining projects. Even now, more than 18 months after the Sri Lankan army defeated the LTTE, many Tamils are still unable to return to their villages as they wait for them to be de-mined.

Authorities have publicly supported the Ottawa Treaty's aims and since 1996 voted for all resolutions at the UN General Assembly that call for a ban on the use, stockpiling or production of anti-personnel mines. A spokesman for the army, General Udaya Madawala, said Sri Lanka had not made any such devices and between 2002 and 2008 the authorities were focused on de-mining.

- INDEPENDENT