UN panel report on Lanka war "crimes" needed to be studied:MEA

New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) With a UN panel equating killing
of tens of thousands of people in the final stages of the Sri
Lankan civil strife to "war crimes", India today said the
issues raised in the report need to be studied carefully and
it intends to engage with Sri Lankan government on these
matters.
"The government has seen the Report of the Panel of
Experts appointed by the UN Secretary General to advise him on
accountability-related issues in the context of the end of the
armed conflict in Sri Lanka in May 2009.
"The issues raised in the Report need to be studied
carefully. As a first step, we intend to engage with the
government of Sri Lanka on the issues contained in the
Report," the Ministry of External Affairs said here.
Claiming that most of the civilians lost their lives
during shelling by Sri Lankan troops in the final stages of
the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) in
2009, the UN panel estimated 40,000 people were killed in the
conflict.
"Most civilian casualties in the final phases of the war
were caused by government shelling. The government
systematically shelled hospitals on all fronts. The government
systematically deprived people in conflict zone of
humanitarian aid in the form of food and medical supplies,
particularly surgical supplies, adding to their suffering,"
said the Report which was officially released yesterday in
New York.
However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon insisted he
would launch an international investigation if Colombo agrees
or member-states call for it.