to aircraft.47 It is unclear if these licences have led to actual deliveries, but the granting of them shows the willingness to sell, including seemingly deadly ammunition and guns. The limited amounts involved, and the relatively high share of ‘services’ are an often-underreported form of ‘arms sales’.
Other suppliers A number of other countries have been mentioned as suppliers of weapons in the last five years. Rifles of Singaporean origin have been noticed with Sri Lankan Government forces. Zimbabwe has been mentioned as a source of ammunition. Reported discussions for a major deal with Iran in 2005 worth up to usd150 million and including small arms and light weapons (salw), artillery, ammunition and potentially, patrol ships and transport aircraft seem not to have progressed beyond initial talks – nothing has been heard of it since and no obvious Iranian weapons have shown up in Sri Lanka.48 Several countries providing military equipment to Sri Lanka, including the usa, the eu members and India, openly reacted negatively on the Sri Lankan decision to completely abandon the peace negotiations in January 2008, emphasising that a military solution is not the way to end the violence.49 However, the usa has continued to provide some aid, mainly for sea control and has strangely enough, in early 2008, offered some encouragement for a military defeat of the LTTE.50 Furthermore, after January 2008 India defended its offer for large arm sales made in late 2007. According to the Indian Minister for External Affairs, it was because Indian and Sri Lankan security are connected and because India does not want ‘international players in our backyard‘.51 And as noted above, some eu members have also continued to supply weapons.
47 Report by the Department of State pursuant to Section 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. Direct Commercial Sales export authourizations for Fiscal Year 2007 (also know as ‘Section 655 Report’), http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/reports/655_intro.html, pp. 180-181; Report by the Department of State pursuant to Section 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. Direct Commercial Sales export authourizations for Fiscal Year 2008, pp. 180-181. Both are available at http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/reports/655_intro.html 48 Athas, I., ‘Sri Lanka, Iran to agree on military defence deal’, Jane’s Defence Weekly, 26 Jan. 2005, p. 17; ‘Lanka denies using aid money to purchase arms’, HindustanTimes.com (quoting AFP), 23 January 2005. 49 For the USA: Press statement from the Department of State, 3 January 2008 (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ ps/2008/jan/98381.htm); for India: Ministry of External Affairs Press Briefing, 4 January 2008 (http://mea.gov. in/pressbriefing/2008/01/04pb01.htm); for the EU: Statement from the Slovenian EU Presidency, 7 January 2008 (http://www.sta.si/vest.php?s=a&id=1247110&pr=1). 50 http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/14065 51 http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1686159 http://64.233.183.132/search?q=cach e:wWdpje1YJpYJ:sify.com/news/fullstory.php%3Fid%3D14783685+us+military+aid+sri+lanka&hl=nl&ct=clnk& cd=19&gl=nl
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