The Czech government rejected several requests for licences for export of military material to Sri Lanka in 2007 though military material worth over 630,000 euros was exported there, the Industry and Trade Ministry said yesterday.

The ministry was reacting to the criticism of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and several other EU member States for continuing exports of arms to Sri Lanka in breach of the EU’s code of conduct on arms exports.

According to the server, the positions of these countries contradicts to the position of Brussels which does not hide its concern about violation of human rights in Sri Lanka.

"I can confirm that military material worth 633,000 euros was sold to Sri Lanka from the Czech Republic in 2007," Industry and Trade Ministry spokesman Tomas Bartovsky told CTK.

However, the report on control over export of military material and hand arms that the ministry placed on the Internet at the end of last year also shows that the Foreign Ministry adopted a negative position on several requests for the licences for export of military material to Sri Lanka, Bartovsky said.

The Czech Republic does not need Brussels’ consent to issue arms export licences but the Czech Republic has been observing the EU’s code of conduct on arms exports from 1998, Bartovsky said.