The long walk to peace
WEDNESDAY, 10 APRIL 2013
While claiming that International community had failed in their duty to stop the war crimes committed by the LTTE terrorists, the first part of the Army’s Court of Inquiry report stated that instances of shellings referred to in the LLRC report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army.
The report, which was handed over to Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa by Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya this morning stated: “…the instances of shellings referred to in the LLRC Report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army and civilian casualties might have occurred due to unlawful acts by LTTE.”
“These acts include firing at civilians fleeing to the safety of Army held areas, dropping of artillery rounds fired by ill-trained LTTE gunners on to civilian concentrations, employment of sub-standard artillery rounds obtained from illegal sources by the LTTE, forced conscription of civilians including children and old people by LTTE for combat purposes, thus exposing them to danger,” the army said in a statement.
The statement says:
The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa had made some observations pertaining to the Army and allegations made by Channel 4.
Thereafter in terms of Regulation 4 of the Courts of Inquiry Regulations 1952, the Commander of the Army convened a Court of Inquiry comprising of the under-mentioned officers to investigate and submit a report on the said observations made by the LLRC.
a. Maj Gen A W J C de Silva RWP USP psc - President
b. Maj Gen A K S Perera WWV RWP RSP - Member
c. Brig J R Kulatunga RSP psc - Member
d. Brig W R P de Silva IG - Member
e. Brig A S Wijewickrama - Member
f. Lt Col H M L D Herath RSP psc SLSC - Secretary
The Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya VSV USP ndu psc handed over the 1st part of the of the Court of Inquiry Report to the Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa RWP RSP psc at the Ministry of Defence today.
The Court examined senior field commanders and infantry, armour, artillery, intelligence, civil affairs and medical officers who had participated in the Humanitarian Operation. From the evidence presented, the Court of Inquiry concluded that LTTE terrorists had violated the international law with impunity by committing various unlawful acts inter alia, using of civilians as human shields, placing of artillery and other heavy weapons amidst civilian concentrations and illegal conscription of civilians, including children and old people, for combat purposes thus exposing them to danger.
Evidence before the Court has conclusively established that the Humanitarian Operation was conducted strictly in accordance with the “Zero Civilian Casualty” directive made by His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and commanders at all times obeyed the said directive and even where the LTTE terrorists had fired from NFZs, commanders refrained from firing at such NFZs. It has also been revealed that as an additional measure of safety, artillery commanders had added 500 meters more to the boundaries of NFZs given by higher headquarters.
During the Court of Inquiry it was transpired that LTTE terrorists had located artillery and other heavy weapons amidst civilian concentrations and from such locations they repeatedly fired at Sri Lankan Army positions. However despite heavy bombardments by LTTE terrorists, Sri Lankan Army troops had refrained from firing heavy weapons and this self-imposed moratorium had caused heavy casualties to Army troops.
Evidence revealed that at all stages of the Humanitarian Operation, the Sri Lanka Army behaved as a well-disciplined military force observing the IHL and the law of war and they took all the precautions to avoid civilian casualties and all those who came under the control of the Sri Lanka Army, including surrendered/captured LTTE cadres, were treated humanely observing the IHL to the letter. On the contrary, shocking details of war crimes committed by LTTE terrorists such as using of civilian as Human Shields, summary executions of civilians who attempted to escape to army lines, forced conscription of children for combat purposes etc were revealed at the inquiry. The Court noted that the International community had failed in their duty to stop the war crimes committed by the LTTE terrorists.
From the testimony presented, the C of I concluded that the instances of shellings referred to in the LLRC Report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army and civilian casualties might have occurred due to unlawful acts by LTTE. These acts include firing at civilians fleeing to the safety of Army held areas, dropping of artillery rounds fired by ill-trained LTTE gunners on to civilian concentrations, employment of sub-standard artillery rounds obtained from illegal sources by the LTTE, forced conscription of civilians including children and old people by LTTE for combat purposes, thus exposing them to danger.
In his concluding remarks the Commander of the Army has stated that in any war, even those fought by western powers using state of the art hi-tech equipment, civilian casualties are inevitable due to the vagaries of war and although the evidence presented before the Court of Inquiry does not attach blame to any Sri Lankan Army member, if new evidence is presented by any person giving precise information on civilian casualties, such instances will be investigated further by giving such persons the opportunity to present their evidence.
The C of I will now proceed to investigate the 2nd part of their mandate, to wit Channel 4 allegation on summary executions of captured LTTE terrorists
By Lashane Cooray-2013-04-10
  The war to eradicate terrorism in Sri Lanka was justifiable, but the peace achieved in the aftermath cannot be described as being favourable to all, former Sri Lankan Ambassador to France, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka said at a seminar organized by the Sri Lanka Young Journalists' Movement in Colombo on Monday.
Addressing the forum themed, 'Religion, Reconciliation and the Future,' Dr. Jayatilleka voiced his opinions on the 30-year civil war, Sri Lanka's standing in the eyes of the international community as well as the civil unrest that had been growing over the past few months between minority Muslim groups and the Buddhist community at large.
"The war was just in its essentials, but the peace which has followed is not so. Reconciliation has proven difficult so far due to the complete lack of opposition towards the government; as the United National Party (UNP) is not competitive," he said.
Commenting further on the Geneva consensus of 2009, as compared to the attitude shown towards Sri Lanka in the recently-held United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in 2013, he said, "In 2009, the consensus was broader than it is now. The time obtained for Sri Lanka was squandered and lost, and now we are running out of space. The problem does not lie entirely with the Tamil Diaspora. In 2009, countries such as Brazil and Peru supported us. However, they did not support us this time. Something had gone wrong and something is rotten."
Speaking on the religious unrest in the country, he said, "We should be able to mutually coexist within the island. There are certain groups who claim this is a Sinhala Buddhist country. Doesn't it belong to the minority groups as well? The Sinhalese Buddhist is naturally entitled to a position of leadership, but nothing of the sort displayed by some of these factions at the moment. The first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the late D.S. Senanayake understood this. Even in his time, there were such groups, albeit existing at a much smaller scale. He managed to ward them off successfully, and instead of following his example, we have turned away from it."
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M. Sumanthiran, addressing the forum said the rule of law is not ensured in the country, despite the fact that Sri Lanka was richly sourced in laws ranging from Roman- Dutch to Kandyan Law.
"It has been said the minority groups are the ones who are responsible for unrest within a country. I think every Tamil speaking person in Sri Lanka bears the eternal shame of not standing up to the LTTE in the early days of the organization," Sumanthiran said.
Commenting on the comparisons made between the war and 'what is brewing now,' he said, "Prohibiting the passage of law happened with the gaining of independence, taking away from some while giving in excess to others. In 1956, Sinhalese was made the only official language of Sri Lanka, and in 1987, Tamil language was included as one as well. However, I still had to make the police complaint in Sinhalese when our offices were attacked in Kilinochchi recently."
Speaking on the Muslim community being targeted by a number of Buddhist groups, he said, "We have to realize that enough is enough, and not let this carnage continue. It can at least be said the Tamil people took up arms, but what have the Muslim people done?"
Former Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera, Frontline Socialist Party Propaganda Secretary Pubudu Jagoda, Sri Lankan educator and Diplomat Javed Yusuf, The Editor-in-Chief of the Nation, Malinda Seneviratne and University of Sri Jayewardenepura Senior Lecturer Anuruddha Pradeep also addressed the event.
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‘Civilian casualties not because of army’
WEDNESDAY, 10 APRIL 2013 While claiming that International community had failed in their duty to stop the war crimes committed by the LTTE terrorists, the first part of the Army’s Court of Inquiry report stated that instances of shellings referred to in the LLRC report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army.The report, which was handed over to Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa by Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya this morning stated: “…the instances of shellings referred to in the LLRC Report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army and civilian casualties might have occurred due to unlawful acts by LTTE.”
“These acts include firing at civilians fleeing to the safety of Army held areas, dropping of artillery rounds fired by ill-trained LTTE gunners on to civilian concentrations, employment of sub-standard artillery rounds obtained from illegal sources by the LTTE, forced conscription of civilians including children and old people by LTTE for combat purposes, thus exposing them to danger,” the army said in a statement.
The statement says:
The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa had made some observations pertaining to the Army and allegations made by Channel 4.
Thereafter in terms of Regulation 4 of the Courts of Inquiry Regulations 1952, the Commander of the Army convened a Court of Inquiry comprising of the under-mentioned officers to investigate and submit a report on the said observations made by the LLRC.
a. Maj Gen A W J C de Silva RWP USP psc - President
b. Maj Gen A K S Perera WWV RWP RSP - Member
c. Brig J R Kulatunga RSP psc - Member
d. Brig W R P de Silva IG - Member
e. Brig A S Wijewickrama - Member
f. Lt Col H M L D Herath RSP psc SLSC - Secretary
The Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya VSV USP ndu psc handed over the 1st part of the of the Court of Inquiry Report to the Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa RWP RSP psc at the Ministry of Defence today.
The Court examined senior field commanders and infantry, armour, artillery, intelligence, civil affairs and medical officers who had participated in the Humanitarian Operation. From the evidence presented, the Court of Inquiry concluded that LTTE terrorists had violated the international law with impunity by committing various unlawful acts inter alia, using of civilians as human shields, placing of artillery and other heavy weapons amidst civilian concentrations and illegal conscription of civilians, including children and old people, for combat purposes thus exposing them to danger.
Evidence before the Court has conclusively established that the Humanitarian Operation was conducted strictly in accordance with the “Zero Civilian Casualty” directive made by His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and commanders at all times obeyed the said directive and even where the LTTE terrorists had fired from NFZs, commanders refrained from firing at such NFZs. It has also been revealed that as an additional measure of safety, artillery commanders had added 500 meters more to the boundaries of NFZs given by higher headquarters.
During the Court of Inquiry it was transpired that LTTE terrorists had located artillery and other heavy weapons amidst civilian concentrations and from such locations they repeatedly fired at Sri Lankan Army positions. However despite heavy bombardments by LTTE terrorists, Sri Lankan Army troops had refrained from firing heavy weapons and this self-imposed moratorium had caused heavy casualties to Army troops.
Evidence revealed that at all stages of the Humanitarian Operation, the Sri Lanka Army behaved as a well-disciplined military force observing the IHL and the law of war and they took all the precautions to avoid civilian casualties and all those who came under the control of the Sri Lanka Army, including surrendered/captured LTTE cadres, were treated humanely observing the IHL to the letter. On the contrary, shocking details of war crimes committed by LTTE terrorists such as using of civilian as Human Shields, summary executions of civilians who attempted to escape to army lines, forced conscription of children for combat purposes etc were revealed at the inquiry. The Court noted that the International community had failed in their duty to stop the war crimes committed by the LTTE terrorists.
From the testimony presented, the C of I concluded that the instances of shellings referred to in the LLRC Report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army and civilian casualties might have occurred due to unlawful acts by LTTE. These acts include firing at civilians fleeing to the safety of Army held areas, dropping of artillery rounds fired by ill-trained LTTE gunners on to civilian concentrations, employment of sub-standard artillery rounds obtained from illegal sources by the LTTE, forced conscription of civilians including children and old people by LTTE for combat purposes, thus exposing them to danger.
In his concluding remarks the Commander of the Army has stated that in any war, even those fought by western powers using state of the art hi-tech equipment, civilian casualties are inevitable due to the vagaries of war and although the evidence presented before the Court of Inquiry does not attach blame to any Sri Lankan Army member, if new evidence is presented by any person giving precise information on civilian casualties, such instances will be investigated further by giving such persons the opportunity to present their evidence.
The C of I will now proceed to investigate the 2nd part of their mandate, to wit Channel 4 allegation on summary executions of captured LTTE terrorists
