DailyMirror
The Committee appointed to ‘Study and Report on the US Department of State Report on Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka,’ which has already examined public officials including high ranking officers of the armed forces, is to submit its findings and recommendations to President Mahinda Rajapaksa by the end of July.
In a media release, S.M. Samarakoon the secretary of the committee says that the committee has had several sittings and examined public officials including high ranking officers of the armed forces and medical officers who had been attached to Puthukudiyirippu, Mullivaikkal and other hospitals during the latter stages of the conflict.
The committee further intends to examine the Commissioner-General of Essential Services with regard to allegations in the report that “the government failed to provide sufficient food and medical supplies to people in IDP camps and those who were trapped in the No-fire zones,” the statement says.
The statement also says that the inquiry process was time consuming and the committee had to obtain an extension of time to submit its report to the President, as “the committee had to make painstaking inquiries through its secretary with regard to the availability and present whereabouts of several public officials who functioned during the period in the areas referred to in the report.”
The Committee will inquire into:
1) The description and background of persons who have been directly referred to in the Report and the nature of their allegation,
2) The circumstances that may have led to or resulted in references being made in the said Report to the said persons
3) The nature, propriety and efficacy of the contents of the Report
4) The appropriate measures that should be taken in accordance with the laws of Sri Lanka with regard to the contents and findings in the said Report, inclusive of recommendations with regard to the specific allegations.
The Committee comprises D.S. Wijesinghe PC (its Chairman), Nihal Jayamannne PC, C.R. De Silva PC, Mano Ramanathan, Jezima Ismail and Anura Meddegoda.