Sri Lanka issues own report rejecting UN allegations of war crimes
by Melani Manel Perera
The document gives a context "facts" behind ethnic conflict and highlights the "humanitarian" role of military, against the "ruthlessness" of Tamil rebels. For the United Nations, the government has killed over 40 thousand civilians between 2006 and 2009.
Colombo (AsiaNews) - The Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday presented a report on the events that occurred in the last phase of the long ethnic conflict, rejecting UN allegations of human rights abuses and extrajudicial executions committed by the army. Attempts, according to the secretary to "impede the peace obtained after 30 painful years." The document of 161 pages, entitled "Humanitarian Operation Factual Analysis, July 2006 - May 2009", aims to provide a precise framework and the concrete steps that led to the end of years of Tamil terrorism.
The report begins with a detailed analysis of the equipment of the terrorist Tamil Tigers (LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), its expansion and atrocities. The final section gives an overview of the humanitarian consequences of the government, which has defeated terrorism and brought peace in the nation.
The document compiled by the Ministry of Defense is above all a response to last April’s UN report, which accused the government of Sri Lanka of the murder of more than 40 thousand people, including civilians (see AsiaNews.it, " UN publishes report on war crimes. Colombo protests").
The report does not deny the deaths of civilians, but states it was "impossible to avoid them", despite the best efforts of the military, because of the "scope of the battle" and "ruthlessness of the adversaries."
The report begins with a detailed analysis of the equipment of the terrorist Tamil Tigers (LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), its expansion and atrocities. The final section gives an overview of the humanitarian consequences of the government, which has defeated terrorism and brought peace in the nation.
The document compiled by the Ministry of Defense is above all a response to last April’s UN report, which accused the government of Sri Lanka of the murder of more than 40 thousand people, including civilians (see AsiaNews.it, " UN publishes report on war crimes. Colombo protests").
The report does not deny the deaths of civilians, but states it was "impossible to avoid them", despite the best efforts of the military, because of the "scope of the battle" and "ruthlessness of the adversaries."
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