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Sri Lanka war commission promises report on Nov 20

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:53 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Sri Lanka must be ready to prosecute military:US official

* Action on report key to avoiding international probe

* Sri Lanka to make report public

By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - A Sri Lankan commission investigating allegations of atrocities during the country's civil war said on Friday it would release its final report on Nov 20, a document keenly awaited by rights groups and Western powers.

Earlier this year a U.N.-appointed panel said it had found "credible allegations" that tens of thousands of civilians were killed and war crimes committed in the final months of Sri Lanka's war with the Tamil Tigers in 2009.

Sri Lanka set up its own body to investigate the conflict -- the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) -- and demanded it have the first chance to respond to the accusations.

Diplomats from Western nations, India and others, have told Reuters that there would be no need for further external investigations if the LLRC comes up with a credible report, and if the government makes political concessions to minority Tamils.

The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has rejected accusations that it committed war crimes during its struggle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), a group on more than 30 nations' terrorism lists.

"The Commission's recommendations focus on a broad range of issues vital for building post-conflict reconciliation, stability and socioeconomic development," the LLRC said in a statement on Friday.

Sri Lanka has promised to make the report public.

The United States has told Sri Lanka's government it must seize the opportunity Washington gave it for the LLRC process to take place, a senior Obama administration official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"These domestic mechanisms must also be credible and must result in credible action being taken by the Sri Lankans that will show that they are determined to pursue serious reconciliation and accountability," the official said.

"It's important that they've measures on the accountability side that show they are prepared to bring members of the military that may have been responsible for war crimes to book."

Additionally, Sri Lanka must say how it will handle provincial council elections in the former war zone, announce what specific powers would be devolved to provincial administrations, establish a land dispute resolution process and account for all the missing people since the war's end, the official said.

Members of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority took to arms in the 1970s saying they had suffered decades of discrimination.

The Tigers fought for a separate nation in Sri Lanka's north and east for Tamils but were defeated by government forces in May 2009. (writing by Bryson Hull)