Colombo: The reconciliation commission
studying Sri Lanka`s ethnic war and its aftermath is ready
with its final report and may present it to President Mahinda
Rajapaksa over the next 15 days.
Officials said today that the report of the Lessons Learnt
and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) is being readied for
presentation to the President who will then decide on making
it public.
LLRC spokesman Lakshman Wickremasinghe said the report
could be presented to Rajapaksa before the November 15
deadline.
"We are making arrangements for it to be presented to the
president. Although we have no definite date it is likely to
be presented in the second week of November," Wickremasinghe
said.
"Our mandate limits us to handing it over to the
president. Making it public or otherwise will be entirely in
president`s hands," Wickremasinghe added.
The LLRC was appointed by Rajapaksa in May 2010 to look
back at the island`s separatist conflict with the LTTE
covering the period of the Norwegian brokered peace process
which began in February 2002 and the end to the military
offensive in May 2009 with the objective of learning lessons
to prevent a repeat.
The LLRC spokesman said that over 1000 oral submissions
and over 5000 written submissions had been received by the
commission.
"People of varying status have recorded their submissions
with us and we have given more chances to people from the
north and east," Wickremasinghe added.
Sri Lanka has used the LLRC to thwart criticism by
international governments and right groups who have called for
an independent investigation into its rights record during the
final push in the war with the LTTE.
An expert panel report of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki
Moon issued last April has accused Sri Lanka and the LTTE of
committing war crimes and called for an investigation.
PTI
