Govt. responds to US report

The Sri Lankan Government today responded to the US State Department report released on August 11, 2010, showing that Sri Lanka has not yet conducted an effective investigation into laws-of-war violations by government forces and the LTTE in the final stages of war.

Full statement;

The Government of Sri Lanka has received the text of the report by Ambassador Rapp of the US State Department to Congress titled "Report to Congress on measures taken by the Government of Sri Lanka and international bodies to investigate incidents during the recent conflict inSri Lanka, and evaluating the effectiveness of such efforts." The Government wishes in this regard to observe that in May 2009, Sri Lanka defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), recognized globally as a brutal terrorist organization. The conflict situation had a devastating effect on the people of Sri Lanka and the Government has set a vigorous goal of rebuilding the nation to move forward into a new era of peace and prosperity. 

The Government of Sri Lanka acknowledges that the lessons which may be drawn from the past could contribute to true reconciliation, and is committed to a rapid process to achieve this. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed an independent Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. The work of the Commission is now underway and is dedicated to fairness and impartiality.  Furthermore, the Government has almost completed the resettlement of all displaced persons and continues to support their livelihood. Also, in the past few months, the Government has repealed most of the emergency regulations that were necessary during the conflict situation. 

Professor Ariyarathna Athugala

Director General of Government Information 

^{Courtesy Government Information Dept.}