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I have been informed by a very reliable source that the Government is using chemical gas cannisters which were bought down during the LTTE civil war.The reason for this is because the Government does not have money to import standard issue cannisters.
— Rehan Jayawickreme (@RehanJayawick) May 7, 2022
Sri Lankan politician Rehan Jayawickreme has claimed that chemical gas canisters used on Tamils during the armed conflict are now being used on anti-government protesters in Colombo.
In a series of tweets, Jayawickreme wrote that a “reliable source” had informed him that "the government is using chemical gas canisters" on protesters who have been demonstrating against the Rajapaksa regime for several weeks for their role in causing the economic crisis the island is currently facing.
Jayawickreme continued that "the particular canister that the regime is using not only causes damage to the eyes but also causes convulsion and palpitations."
Yesterday, Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency amidst ongoing unrest over the economic crisis on the island. Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan police were caught on video assaulting protestors and firing tear gas. Yesterday evening an officer opened fire in Amparai leaving 2 civilians hospitalised.
The Sri Lankan government has been accused of using chemical weapons, a violation of international law, on Tamil populations during armed conflict, which saw the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils.
Footage from the documentary 'This land belongs to the army' by the Indian journalist Thamizh Prabhakar, shows a Sri Lankan soldier pointing to a chemical weapon and describing in detail how it works.
"This one is a very potent weapon," says the soldier pointing to ammunition, adding,
"When it hits the grounds it disintegrates into several pieces. The chemical in this burns the skin immediately"
"We used this in the last stages of the war. We used it on LTTE fighters holed up on the beach. All the people died when we used this"
Despite the allegations of war crimes, neither Mahinda Rajapaksa who served as President nor Gotabaya Rajapaksa who served as Defence Secretary during the armed conflict have been held accountable.
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