A United Nations panel has called for setting up of an “independent international mechanism” into what it called “credible” allegations that Sri Lankan military committed war crimes in its final decisive offensive against Tamil Tigers in 2009, a charge described by Colombo as “unsubstantiated.”
The three-member panel, appointed by U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon submitted its report last week without making it public. But leaked excerpts were published here in Island newspaper.
According to the paper the report has described as “credible” allegations that Sri Lankan military systematically targeted hospitals in the Tamil dominated Vanni area and executed some of the captured LTTE cadres after the war.
The panel has also alleged that LTTE had held Vanni population hostage and executed those trying to escape in beginning of February 2009.
The paper said, the U.N. panel had dismissed the findings and process of the ‘Sri Lankan Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee’ and demand that Colombo should launch a “genuine” investigations into the war crimes charges and other alleged violations of international and human rights law, committed by both sides.
The panel report was handed over to the Sri Lankan government on the eve of Sinhala new year.
Reacting to the report Sri Lankan government called it “fundamentally flawed” and “biased”. Colombo had vehemently protested the creation of an U.N. panel and refused entry to the members of the body.
The Island quoted an authoritative government spokesman as saying that the U.N. panel had repeated unsubstantiated allegations made by the LTTE and its hired agents during the war and its aftermath.
