Blood on Lankan PM's hands over war crimes; protests erupt

Sri Lanka, May 2: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) might have been ousted from the Sri Lankan soil ridding it of the long lasting civil war that had been subject to since 26 years. But the recent United Nations report has upped the ante for protestors which says that the allegations of war crimes and other offences against humanity is credible and have been substantiated. The fingers definitely point at the Sri Lankan government.

The peaceful protests organized to coincide with the May Day celebrations held globally, was called for by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. The UN report says that both government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels were involved in the violation of humanitarian laws in the bloody civil war that led to the death of thousands of civilians. The UN also claimed that the internal strife left thousands dead and others misplaced. The report quotes, “credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international humanitarian rights law was committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE (rebels), some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The UN report also quotes an instance of a particular village in northern Sri Lanka called Vanni that held 3,30,000 people who were trapped during the fight. The Lankan government is believed to have used "large-scale and widespread shelling" that led to the death of a large number of civilians. The report added that the shelling occurred in no-fire zones that killed civilians apart from destroying a UN hub and led to the damage of relief efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The report also stated a damaging statement and said, "Most civilian casualties in the final phases of the war were caused by government shelling." The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon commented that he “sincerely hopes that this advisory report will make a contribution to full accountability and justice so that the Sri Lankan government and people will be able to proceed towards national reconciliation and peace."

OneIndia News