Tamil party welcomes UN panel report on Sri Lanka

Colombo, April 19: Sri Lanka's main Tamil political party on Monday, April 18 lauded a report by a UN panel that reportedly calls for a probe into allegations of war crimes during the offensive against the LTTE.

The report, leaks of which have appeared in the media, has already been trashed by the Sri Lankan government which considers it flawed and biased.

In fact, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has even called for a massive show of strength to oppose it.

But, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said it welcomed the the recommendations made by the panel and hopes that they will be "honestly implemented".

TNA is the main political party representing Sri Lanka's Tamil ethnic minority, who make up 12.5 per cent of the country's 20 million people.

"The panel has recommended certain measures which as a whole, it hopes will serve as a framework for an ongoing and constructive engagement between the Secretary General and the government of Sri Lanka on accountability," the party said in a statement.

The panel, commissioned by UN chief Ban Ki-moon, in its report 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.

"We urge the government of Sri Lanka not to miss this opportunity and to constructively engage in a process which would result in all the people of Sri Lanka being the beneficiaries of genuine democracy, equality and justice," the TNA said.

PTI