LLRC report contains constructive proposals - Aussie FM

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the LLRC report contains constructive proposals for advancing reconciliation and reconstruction, including through reducing the presence of Security Forces in the North, care of internally displaced persons and media freedoms.

“It is now also critical that the Sri Lankan government endorse the LLRC report’s constructive elements and set clear, firm time frames for their implementation,” Rudd said among other things.

The Australian government has studied closely Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Report, and welcomes its recommendations for addressing the post-conflict situation.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa formed the LLRC in May 2010 to investigate events during the conflict between February 2002 and May 2009 and to make recommendations to advance restitution and reconciliation. The LLRC included representatives of five Sinhalese, two Tamil and one Muslim.

The LLRC report contains 285 principal observations and recommendations divided into six sections: ceasefire agreement; international humanitarian law issues; human rights; land issues; restitution and compensation; and reconciliation.

Australia provides practical support for Sri Lanka’s efforts towards reconciliation and reconstruction in conflict-affected areas. Since 2009, Australia has supported the land mines and unexploded ordnance clearance from 74 square kilometres of land and the reconstruction of around 4,600 homes and an estimated 20 schools in Northern Province.