Paranagama report rejects findings by UN led inquiry

The Commission of Inquiry into Abductions and Disappearances (Maxwell Paranagama Commission) has rejected findings by a UN led inquiry which said 40,000 civilians were killed during the last stages of the war and said the LTTE was “principally responsible for the loss of civilian life”.   The LTTE was principally responsible for the loss of civilian life during the final phase of the armed conflict through their actions which included taking 300,000 to 330,000 civilian hostages, implementing a strategy of killing Tamil civilians to suit their military aims. It however accepted that shelling by the government forces undoubtedly led to a significant number of civilian deaths, but said this was an inevitable consequence of the LTTE’s refusal to permit civilians to leave their control in order to use them both as a shield and a pool for recruitment, even when the Government declared a ceasefire period for the civilians to leave the war zone. The Commission reported was tabled in the Parliament today by Ranil Wickremesinghe. He also tabled the Udalagama Commission report as well as the UNHRC report on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka. The Commission chaired by Maxwell Paranagama comprised of Suranjana Vidyaratne, Mano Ramanthan, WAT Rathnayaka and H Sumanapala. Chandani Kirinde