Sri Lanka President demands mass protest against UN report on civil war

Colombo, Apr 17 (ANI): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has called for mass protests against a UN report that alleged that the war crimes were committed at the end of the civil war.

The leaked documents have said that Sri Lankan soldiers and Tamil Tiger rebels had committed serious violations as the civil war came to an end in 2009.

Although the claims are not new, Rajapaksa urged people to 'show their strength' against the report.

"All these days we did not demonstrate our strength, but now on May Day we will show our strength," the BBC quoted him, as saying.

The UN-appointed inquiry submitted its findings to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon few days back after gathering evidence for 10 months.

"The Sri Lankan government says it pursued a 'humanitarian rescue operation' with a policy of 'zero civilian casualties.' In stark contrast, the panel found credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations were committed by both sides," the report said.

However, Sri Lanka's government, which also received a copy of the report, described it as "fundamentally flawed and patently biased," adding that it was "presented without any verification". (ANI)