JURIST - Paper Chase: Sri Lanka president receives report on alleged war crimes

[JURIST] Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) [official website] on Sunday delivered its final report on alleged abuses committed during the country's civil war to President Mahinda Rajapaksa [official website]. The LLRC is a government appointed commission that has been investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity said to have occurred during the final stages of the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [JURIST news archive]. The commission collected evidence from numerous domestic sources including former rebels and government officials. International rights groups refused to cooperate with the LLRC [AP report] out of concern that the panel may be pro-government and does not meet international standards. The report will not be released publicly until it is presented to the Sri Lankan Parliament [official website].

In September, Sri Lanka announced that it will continue to outlaw [JURIST report] the LTTE and detain terror suspects indefinitely despite lifting emergency laws. In August, the Sri Lankan government announced it would lift the emergency laws [JURIST report] that have been in place for 30 years, though Parliament would renew [text] some provisions temporarily. Most clauses of the Public Security Ordinance, which permits suspects to be detained indefinitely and without charge, have already been abolished. Sri Lankan Prime Minister DM Jayaratne [official website] told Parliament that some clauses would remain necessary, even though the civil war ended in 2009. The Sri Lankan emergency laws have been in a state of flux in recent years. Sri Lankan lawmakers voted last year to extend the state of emergency [JURIST report] but reduced some of the toughest provisions.