Colombo, Dec 17 (ANI): A commission of inquiry appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to look into events of the civil war has issued a report saying the government did its best to protect civilians.
The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report concluded the military gave the "highest priority" to protecting civilians and said Tamil Tiger rebels had had "no respect for human life".
Both sides have been accused of human rights abuses during the final phase of Sri Lanka's brutal conflict in 2009.
"The commission is satisfied that the military strategy that was adopted to secure the LTTE [Tamil-Tiger]-held areas was one that was carefully conceived, in which the protection of the civilian population was given the highest priority," the report said.
The he Tigers, in contrast, used people as human shields, shot them, conscripted them and placed weapons in civilian centres, it added.
The report also accused the government of failing to disarm illegal armed groups, most of which are pro-government. It said a Tamil party within the government was still recruiting children to a militia.
It added that there is an urgent need to address the question of missing people, the number of whom has risen since this report was completed.
According to the BBC, the government-appointed commission was widely dismissed by international human rights groups.n September Amnesty international said the government inquiry was "flawed at every level".
International groups refused to testify before the panel, adding that it had no mandate and did not meet international standards.
Sri Lankan government, however, always insisted that LLRC would provide justice and get to the bottom of human rights violations. (ANI)
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