Sri Lanka Reconciliation Commission concludes that Security Forces had not deliberately targeted civilians in the NFZs

The much-awaited report of Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), while admitting that there were civilian casualties due to crossfire, has concluded that Sri Lankan security forces had not deliberately targeted civilians in the 'No-Fire Zones (NFZs) established by the government. "On consideration of all facts and circumstances before it,
the Commission concludes that the Security Forces had not deliberately targeted the civilians in the NFZs, although civilian casualties had in fact occurred in the cause of crossfire," the report said. The 400-page final report of the LLRC was tabled in Parliament by Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva this morning. The Commission concluded that several causes contributed to the civilian deaths during the last phase of the war that ended in May 2009. "The LTTE targeting and killing of civilians who attempted to flee the conflict into safe areas, the threat posed by landmines and resultant death and injuries to civilians, and the perils inherent in crossing the Nanthi Kadal Lagoon, had all collectively contributed to civilian casualties," the Commission has stated in its conclusions according to few excerpts of the report released by the President's Media Unit. The Commission was satisfied that the security forces have taken all the practicable precautions to keep civilian casualties to a low but given the complexity of the situation, they have faced with "an unprecedented situation when no other choice was possible". "In evaluating the Sri Lanka experience in the context of allegations of violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the Commission is satisfied that the military strategy that was adopted to secure the LTTE held areas was one that was carefully conceived, in which the protection of the civilian population was given the highest priority. The Commission also notes in this regard that the movement of the Security Forces in conducting their operations was deliberately slow during the final stages of the conflict, thereby evidencing a carefully worked out strategy of avoiding civilian casualties or minimizing them," the report stated in its Principal Observations and Recommendations. The report pointed out that political leaders and civil society of both Sinhala and Tamil communities must fully acknowledge the tragedy and repent for reconciliation. The Commission blamed the southern political leaders of the two main political parties saying that if they acted in the national interest and forged a consensus between them to offer an acceptable solution to the Tamil people the tragedy could have been averted. President Rajapaksa appointed the LLRC in May 2010 to probe the last seven years of the conflict and recommend measures to reconcile the communities affected by the war and prevent recurrence of conflicts in the future in order to bring lasting peace to the country. The eight-member Commission commenced its sessions last year and has recorded thousands of oral and written submissions from a cross section of society on the period between 2002 and 2009.Read Full Report