By Namini Wijedasa
It has been a slow journey but the government is finally accepting that civilians might have died as a result of military action during the final stages of its war with the LTTE.
This change in position is attributable in no small measure to the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, which is due to be released shortly. Although its contents are not officially known, it is reported that the LLRC has recommended further investigation of certain incidents that witnesses say happened.
The LLRC process has shown that information about the battle–how it was conducted, who did what, when and where–is widely available among people in the North and East. Thirty months after the end of the war, it is no longer viable to maintain a tenuous position of ‘zero civilian casualty.’ Indeed, it
would be foolhardy and dishonest to do so. Speaking at the ‘Inaugural National Conference on Reconciliation’ at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies in Colombo, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa spoke in more detail about civilian casualties than he has possibly ever done in public.
It was not the first time the government took a tentative step towards admitting to civilian casualties. Earlier this year, its publication Humanitarian Operation Factual Analysis (produced in response to the devastating report of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s panel of experts) admitted: “Despite the clear intent of the Government of Sri Lanka and the numerous precautions taken, it was impossible in a battle of this magnitude, against a ruthless opponent actively endangering civilians, for civilian casualties to be avoided.”
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