http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111226_03


India welcomes LLRC report

India on Sunday (Dec 25) welcomed Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report, which recommends measures to heal wounds of the conflict in the island nation even as it again underlined the need to ensure that an independent and credible mechanism is put in place to investigate alleged human rights violations in the country.
The report of the LLRC, set up against the backdrop of allegations of military excesses in the operation against the LTTE, was tabled in Sri Lankan Parliament by the government on December 16.
"The LLRC report has underlined that the present situation provides a great window of opportunity to forge a consensual way forward towards reconciliation through a political settlement based on devolution of power," external affairs ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said. The foreign ministry said in a statement that it expected Sri Lanka to "act decisively" to achieve meaningful devolution of powers to its provinces in the backdrop of the military operation against the LTTE in its first comments on the report just made public.
Pointing out that the LLRC report expects the government to provide leadership to a political process, Prakash said India hoped that Sri Lanka "recognizing the critical importance of this issue acts decisively and with vision in this regard". Prakash emphasized the implementation of the assurances given in the LLRC report to ensure speedy resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDP) would mark a major step forward in the process of reconciliation. "Implementation of assurances to ensure speedy resettlement and genuine reconciliation, including early completion of the process of the return of IDPs and refugees to their respective homes, restoration of normal civilian life in affected areas would mark a major step forward in the process of reconciliation," he said.
Welcoming the public release of the LLRC report, Prakash said India "takes note of the assurance given by the government of Sri Lanka in Parliament about implementation of many of its recommendations".
Courtesy: Government Information Department