Former Sri Lankan Army Commander Sarath Fonseka denied that Sri Lankan troops killed the 12 year old son of LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, however admitted that if such an execution took place, it amounted to a war crime.
Mr Fonseka denied the Sri Lankan army was responsible for the murder, despite photographic evidence of Balachandran Prabhakaran in Sri Lankan army custody.
Evidence obtained by documentary makers in 2013 showed the 12 year old boy, alive and apparently in army custody. Balachandran can be seen sitting with a snack in his hand, sitting on a bench surrounded by sandbags, in what looks like a fortified army position. Another picture shows him dead, with 5 bullet wounds to his body, with digital analysis of both pictures showing that they were taken by the same camera, only a couple of hours apart.
"Both these photographs and the video do not provide any evidence that the terrorist leader’s son was killed by the army; no other persons are seen in the pictures," claimed Mr Fonseka, who was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal by the present government.
"Nobody has been able to prove this allegation though many have voiced their opinion,” he added.
Whilst admitting that if the 12 year old boy was killed, then the execution amounted to a war crime, the former commander remained adamant that Sri Lankan troops were not responsible.
“It is either a figment of their imagination or a fabrication to implicate the army," he said.
Photographs of the killing sparked worldwide condemnation and set off a wave of protests in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, with Chief Minister Jayalilitha calling it an “inhuman act of extreme cruelty” and “a war crime of the gravest nature and an unforgivable act”.
Mr Fonseka though, has been consistent in denying the army as responsible for the execution, stating the army had no idea as to the whereabouts of Prabhakaran's family when evidence of the killing had emerged. The former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa also refused to accept responsibility for the execution in an interview with The Hindu in 2013, saying “we completely deny it”.
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