India calls for probe, resettlement of Sri Lanka war victims

India Tuesday made a strong pitch for a probe into the allegations of human rights abuses during the civil war in Sri Lanka.

The call was made during a high-level meeting by External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and his Sri Lankan counterpart GL Peiris on Monday in New Delhi.

Besides a probe, India called for the expeditious implementation of measures by the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure resettlement and genuine reconciliation of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

A joint statement issued following the meeting called for "early withdrawal of emergency regulations, investigations into allegations of human rights violations, restoration of normalcy in affected areas and redress of humanitarian concerns of affected families".

Sri Lankan military in May 2009 defeated the LTTE ending a three-decade civil war that killed between 80,000 and 100,000 people. Some 300,000 civilians were displaced during the final months of the conflict.

Peiris told reporters that Sri Lanka was committed to bring "hope and aspiration for the future" and to ensure concrete progress in the ongoing dialogue between the government and representatives of the Tamil parties.

In April this year, a three-member Panel of Experts appointed by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, to advise him about human rights violations during the last phase of the civil war, submitted a report that indicates serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law by both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.

The panel has expressed serious doubts and reservations about Sri Lanka's justice system and the working of the state human rights commission.

The panel also criticises the UN in failing to report and "to take actions that might have protected civilians." The panel says casualty figures collected by the UN should have been made public at the time.

The report makes a series of accusations against the Sri Lankan government that include "killing of civilians through widespread shelling, shelling of hospitals and humanitarian objects, denial of humanitarian assistance and violations suffered by victims and survivors of the conflict, including both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and suspected LTTE cadres".