Under pressure from ongoing investigations by Human Rights Investigations, Patria, the Finnish arms company, have released a press release this morning (7th July 2011):
Patria’s mortar systems have not been used to fire cluster ammunition in Libya
During the last weeks Patria has been increasingly contacted about the possibility that Patria’s Nemo 120 mm mortar system or Patria Hägglunds’ AMOS 120 mm mortar system would have been used in Misurata, Libya to fire 120 mm cluster ammunition (MAT-120) produced by a Spanish company Instalaza S.A. Patria strongly rejects this possibility. None of AMOS or Nemo mortar systems are in use of the parties in Libya. And Patria does not develop, produce or sell cluster ammunition products.
The suspicion has likely been created by a misinterpretation of publicly available information. A small quantity (305pcs live plus 230 pcs of inert ammuntitions) of MAT-120 rounds were imported to Finland in 2005-2007 for for the program for the Finnish Defence Forces. Patria and the Finnish Defence Forces terminated that program in 2009.
The left-over ammunitions (136 pcs live) are owned and stored by the Finnish Defence Forces. No MAT-120 ammunition imported by Patria has been exported out from Finland.
Patria Hägglunds has a licensing agreement with a US company, AAI Corporation, concerning AMOS. However, under this agreement, no AMOS mortar systems have been produced by AAI. The export of Patria Hägglunds know-how or components related to AMOS are also under the Finnish export control mechanisms.
HRI will be responding in detail in due course.
In the meantime, we request the company answer the detailed questions they have been asked and the additional question: How could Patria possibly know that none of the NEMO or AMOS systems are in use with the parties in the Libyan conflict?
Human rights investigations 