LLRC report addresses issues of last stages of humanitarian op - Lankan envoy

Sri Lanka will hold accountable every person accused of irregularities during its decades-long conflict, the nation’s ambassador to the US Jaliya Wickramasuriya said.

Wickramasuriya

Wickramasuriya said the suspects’ names are disclosed in eyewitness testimony posted on the website of the government-appointed commission that issued the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report.

“There are no names [in the report], but there is a process to check accountability,” Wickramasuriya said in an interview with editors and reporters at The Washington Times.

The Sri Lankan government has opposed an international investigation, and Wickramasuriya said that position has not changed.

“We believe that a home-grown solution is the best solution for Sri Lanka,” he said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed the LLRC in May 2010 to examine the war and post-conflict efforts.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters last week that the report does not fully address all allegations of human-rights violations that occurred in the last phase of the conflict.

Wickramasuriya said Nuland’s comments were inaccurate. “We were very upset about that statement,” he said. “The US is one of our very good friends, and we are a democratic country in the region. Sri Lanka should be credited at this time.” Moreover, the report adequately addresses the last days of the conflict, the diplomat said.

Sri Lankan forces did not deliberately target civilians in no-fire zones, the report said.

Wickramasuriya said Sri Lanka’s military had undertaken a “humanitarian operation” during the war to protect civilians, noting that government forces needed two years to clear the LTTE from their eastern and northern strongholds.

“If we weren’t concerned about civilians, clearing that area wouldn’t take that long,” he said, acknowledging that there had been some civilian casualties. Courtesy :The Washington Times