COLOMBO - Sri Lanka rejected Wednesday what it called a "divisive" and flawed report commissioned by UN chief Ban Ki-moon which holds the government responsible for thousands of civilian deaths in its civil war.
"The public release of the report at this stage is divisive, and disrupts our efforts to reinforce peace, security and stability in Sri Lanka," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "It feeds into the political agendas of interested parties," the statement said. The report released Monday highlighted "credible allegations" that both the Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tiger rebels had been involved in violations that could amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity. The allegations refer to the final months of the government's ultimately successful 2009 offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in which tens of thousands of civilians are estimated to have died. The foreign ministry statement said the report was "fundamentally flawed in many respects" and based on "biased material, which is presented without any verification". Sri Lanka has repeatedly denied any rights violations and President Mahinda Rajapakse has called for this year's May Day rally on Sunday to be turned into a demonstration against any UN investigation. The report by a panel of experts had recommended that the secretary general set up an independent, international inquiry, but Ban said such a probe would require Sri Lanka's agreement or the sanction of an inter-governmental body. The UN panel said the Sri Lankan military killed most of the tens of thousands of civilian victims of the offensive when it shelled Tamil territory between January and May of 2009. It also cited evidence that Tamil Tiger separatists had used civilians as a "human buffer" and shot people who tried to escape. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Tuesday that an international inquiry was desperately needed. "The eyewitness accounts and credible information contained in this report demand a full, impartial, independent and transparent investigation," Pillay said. "Unless there is a sea-change in the government's response, which has so far been one of total denial and blanket impunity, a full-fledged international inquiry will clearly be needed," she added. The United States, which has taken a tough line on Sri Lanka over the conflict, also welcomed the panel's recommendations, with the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, calling for "an independent and full accounting of the facts." AFP
