Paranagama Report

The government’s report on the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into complaints of Abductions and Disappearances contains detailed rejection of the allegations against Sri Lanka’s military that it deliberately shelled no fire zones and hospitals.

The report conceded that some of the allegations of war crimes committed are credible, as reported by Channel 4 yesterday, however rationalised the killing of civilians as necessary to end the war.

“The resolve of the Government to end the conflict, even when faced with the unpalatable choice of killing or injuring civilians in the vicinity of LTTE artillery batteries, and other legitimate targets is likely to have saved many more civilian lives and those of the armed forces by bringing the war to a close,” the report says.

The commission, headed by Justice Maxwell Paranagama, blames the LTTE for the civilian deaths that occurred, including through targeted shelling, in order to put the blame on the government.

See full report  and annexes here.