All human right violations are not war crimes – Kiriella

All human rights violations are not war crimes and should not be considered as such, an opposition United National Party parliamentarian said yesterday.

Addressing a press conference in Colombo the UNP Kandy District parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella said the United Nations report on war crimes and human rights violations is a huge shame to the country.

Kiriella said it is inevitable that civilians get killed during a war and regardless of which government comes to power the disgrace inflicted on the country by such a report would remain.

The opposition MP says the opposition also wants to reject the report as the allegations tarnish the country’s image.

Kiriella suggested the government to lift the state of emergency, ease the Prevention of Terrorism Act, issue death certificates to the disappeared persons and compensate their families and take other such measures to win back the international community’s trust step by step.  (Colombo Page)