population in the north, according to international news reports. Alleged use of chemicals weapons during the war The Indian news channel NewsX broadcast the footage of a person who appears to be a Sri Lankan army soldier reportedly boasting of the use of chemical weapons against LTTE fighters and civilians during the final stages of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. But as per media reports the filmmaker Maga.Tamizh Prabhagaran listup the proofs for chemical weapons usage in Sri Lanka. From his interview 'The cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda went missing after he started researching the Sri Lankan military's chemical weapon use and started publicising his findings to diplomats out of Sri Lanka. His wife also wrote a letter to BBC Sinhala about Prageeth's chemical weapons investigation. Interview of an army officer The footage shows an alleged 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" Pointing to another store of weapons, a soldier explains, "This one is dropped from a plane. It will explode only when it hits the ground. An area of 1 square Km is completely destroyed by this". Sri Lankan reaction Sri Lankan army spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya denied the allegations and told the media "As you know Sri Lanka did not manufacture weapons or munitions and we procured our inventories from know suppliers through government to government interventions. The LTTE however were known for their attempts at manufacturing arms and munitions and large stocks of chemicals were even recovered from their bases during search operations. The latest video is another attempt by some parties to sensationalize baseless allegation against the Army in particular and the Government in general. We reject such appalling attempts driven by vested interests". Film Festivals 1. Official Selection : 7th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala 2. Official Selection : International Festival of Local Televisions 2014 3. Screened in Social Justice Film Festival, Chennai Awards Kalakkam's Best Documentary Award'2014 Kalakkam – Art and Literature Movement Special Mention Social Justice Film Festival References External links