Thaindian News

Colombo, Apr 22 (ANI): Sri Lanka has warned the United Nations (UN) that releasing a report on the alleged war crimes committed by both the government and the Tamil Tigers, could affect the process of ethnic reconciliation.

The Guardian quoted Sri Lankan foreign minister as saying that the UN panel had overstepped its mandate and become an investigative rather than an advisory body to the secretary general, Ban Ki-moon.

The report, which was handed over to Ban last week, have stated that the alleged war crimes, and crimes against humanity against them are credible, and that they have violated the international law immensely.

Although the UN has not released the report officially, media reports revealed some sections of it recently.

“It’s wrong to publish the report. It’s equally wrong and unacceptable to take any steps at all on the basis of any findings or recommendations contained in the report. We are very conscious of the fact that the need of the hour is reconciliation. Does [the report] further that objective, or does it make the accomplishment of that objective more difficult than it needs to be?” the paper quoted the report, as saying.

Ban’s deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, had told earlier this week that the the report is expected to be released this week and that the secretary general’s senior advisers have “completed their review of the report”.

The decision has also been criticised by many citizens of Sri Lanka.

“We live in peace and harmony and now the UN wants to disturb the peace we achieved by defeating terrorism,” one of the citizens said after signing a petition against the report sponsored by the nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya political party.

Thousands of people had died in the last five months of the civil war that ended in May 2009. (ANI)