External Affairs Minister Prof G. L. Peiris told Parliament yesterday that there were factual discrepancies, of the incidents that took place during the last phase of the humanitarian operation against the LTTE, in the Darusman Report and the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.
The Minister, participating in the debate on Defence Ministry votes, during the third reading stage of the budget debate, said that the LLRC report was more transparent and the way data was gathered had been outlined properly. However, the Darusman Report failed to mention the way it procured data for its report. "This absence of methodology of gathering data alone makes it an irresponsible report. The LLRC report is impartial and acceptable to all those who need to know what really happened. Though the Darusman report says it obtained data from people, it fails to mention who these people are," Prof Peiris said.
"The evidence mentioned in the Darusman report is not credible and authoritative when compared to the LLRC report.
The LLRC report reveals many facts that we must take into account. The LLRC report highlights the way the LTTE had fixed their artillery in areas where the people lived. This made it very difficult for the advancing troops to separate them from the people. Apart from that the terrorists used people as a human shield by parking their vehicles in the areas closer to hospitals. They were not following any laws or principles but our troops were adhering to the laws of the country and international norms of engagement throughout their mission," he said.
Source: The Island, December 20, 2011
