The government yesterday dismissed the Mannar Bishop’s claim that it should take responsibility for the massacre of 17 civilians and injuring many at Periyamadu in the Madhu area.

Defence Spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the government categorically rejected the accusation made by the Bishop as troops were not deployed in that area as it had been declared a No War Zone and the government respected that. The Bishop’s unwarranted remarks were totally unacceptable he said.

Rambukwella said that the Bishop had said that he was ‘frustrated’ about what’s happening.

"Though it is a No War Zone, the Tigers move freely in the area and there is no point in pointing a finger at the government."

Comments have been to the effect that the defence authorities kept away from their responsibilities or were incapable of doing what they are ought to do, he said.

"The terminology used by certain elements where these killing are concerned implies that the forces are responsible for the massacre but the government totally denies it. They say that if the Sri lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was there it would have handled the situation better," he said.

"However, the SLMM’s movements were restricted to Colombo. During the period that they were operating as truce monitors they acted in a partial manner to the Tigers and were not inclined to blame or announce the truce violations committed by the LTTE which is over 8,000. But they were harping about the 400 odd minor violations committed by the troops," Rambukwella said.