Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission:

'Forces rescued civilians'

Chaminda PERERA

Former Commander of 58 Division and present Operations Director of the Sri Lanka Army Major General Shavendra Silva Wednesday said the Security Forces who were involved in the humanitarian operation were given specific instructions to ensure Zero Casuality throughout the entire operation.

Major General Silva said the Security Forces rescued the civilians and the combatants who took arms against them. He also showed a video footage displaying how the LTTE cadres in uniform were being treated by the Security Forces.

Giving evidence before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, Major General Silva denied accusations that the Security Forces targeted civilians.

He said his division was in the forefront of the fighting during the last stage of the operation and all operations were planned with the assistance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). He added that the UAVs launched by the Sri Lanka Air Force gave them regular footages.

Major General Silva said his Division headquarters was provided with UAV facilities and the entire area was monitored by the UAVs regularly.

He said the UAVs gave clear pictures where civilians were concentrated and the Security Forces always averted the areas where there were civilians when the operations were launched.

"It was the practice of the LTTE's propaganda mechanism to disseminate misleading information to the International Community". He said the news propagated by the LTTE that the Vellamullivaikkal Hospital was damaged by Army artillery fire was false.

Major General Silva said he took local and foreign media personnel to the Hospital just few hours after it was captured by the Forces. He said the entire hospital remained intact. There was no damage to the hospital, he added.

He said LTTE sent suicide cadres to the centres where the fleeing civilians were accepted by the Sri Lanka Army. A number of civilians and Security Forces personnel were killed by these attacks.

Major General Silva in a video footage elaborated how the injured civilians were treated by the Security Forces.