Panel finds 'credible claims' of human rights violations against both sides in separatist conflict and urges independent inquiry
The United Nations has said there are "credible allegations" that tens of thousands of civilians were killed by the Sri Lankan government in its final offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels.
In a report on the brutal end to the 26-year separatist conflict, a UN panel accused both sides of possible war crimes and called for an independent international investigation.
The 200-page report (pdf), much of which was leaked to the Sri Lankan media earlier this month, said the conduct of the war was a "grave assault" on international law, cataloguing incidents it said amounted to crimes against humanity.
Sri Lanka's government, which consistently denied targeting civilians, has rejected the findings as biased and fraudulent.
Tens of thousands of people died in the last five months of the war that ended in May 2009. The report said most of these were killed by widespread government shelling of no-fire zones where the government had encouraged civilians to concentrate, including hospitals, UN facilities and evacuation routes.
The report also alleged atrocities were carried out by the rebel Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE), accusing them of using civilians as human shields and for forced labour, recruiting child soldiers and shooting anyone who attempted to flee the conflict zone.
The report said the government used intimidation to silence media reports as it masked its bloody campaign with claims of a "zero civilian casualty" policy and "humanitarian rescue operations".
"In stark contrast, the panel found credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law was committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," it said.
"Indeed, the conduct of the war represented a grave assault on the entire regime of international law designed to protect individual dignity during both war and peace."
It said the rebels had begun shooting "point-blank" any civilians who attempted to escape the fighting as government forces launched their final push in February 2009.
"Despite grave danger in the conflict zone, the LTTE refused civilians permission to leave, using them as hostages, at times even using their presence as a strategic human buffer between themselves and the advancing Sri Lanka army."
The panel urged the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, to establish "an independent international mechanism" to investigate its claims. However, Ban has said he lacks the authority to order an investigation and instead urged officials in Colombo to launch their own inquiry.
Before the report's release, the Sri Lankan foreign minister, Gamini Peiris, told reporters that the UN panel's 10-month investigation had overstepped its mandate.
"It's wrong to publish the report. It's equally wrong and unacceptable to take any steps at all on the basis of any findings or recommendations contained in the report," he said.
"We are very conscious of the fact that the need of the hour is reconciliation. Does [the report] further that objective, or does it make the accomplishment of that objective more difficult than it needs to be?"
The panel also criticised UN bodies and international officials for not acting to protect civilian lives and not publicising casualty figures to show the human toll of the war.
The Tamil Tigers fought for 26 years to create an independent state for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils. The Sinhalese majority controls the government and armed forces. The UN says that between 80,000 and 100,000 people died during fighting.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/26/un-sri-lanka-possible-war-crimes
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