Navaneetham Pillay’s Report had been cross-checked from a number of different sources – OHCHR

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said yesterday it stood by its statement on the crisis in northern Sri Lanka despite the Sri Lankan government raising strong objections over the contents of the statement. OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville told the displacement and casualty figures which were hotly disputed by the government had been cross-checked from a number of different sources.

“We stand by our statement made on Friday. The figures are estimates, but were cross-checked across a number of different sources,” Mr. Colville said not wanting to comment further.

In her statement on Friday the United Nations Human Rights Chief Navaneetham Pillay expressed her growing alarm at the increasing number of civilians reported killed and injured in the conflict in northern Sri Lanka, and the apparent ruthless disregard being shown for their safety. She said that despite the government’s designation of safe – or “no-fire” – zones for civilians, repeated shelling had continued inside those zones. OHCHR said a range of credible sources had indicated that more than 2,800 civilians might have been killed and more than 7,000 injured since January 20, and many of them inside the no-fire zones. The casualties are believed to include hundreds of children killed and more than a thousand injured.

The government however disputed the OHCHR statement and said the HR Chief might have been misled by LTTE propaganda. Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told the media on Saturday that the consolidated position of the Sri Lankan government in respect of the media release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, was that the statement dated March 13 was unacceptable due to the manner it had been formulated and disseminated and with regard to the contents which pertained to the conduct of the government.

Minister Samarasinghe expressed his disappointment and dismay at the statement and said one of the main issues of contention was the use of unsubstantiated casualty figures cited by the High Commissioner’s Office. He said these figures bore a similarity to those carried by websites such as Tamilnet and figures quoted by LTTE front organizations and their representatives and that the representatives of these front organizations were very active on the sidelines of the 10th Sessions of the UN Human Rights Council currently being held in Geneva.

Minister Samarasinghe said the government intended to meet and engage with the High Commissioner this week to place the facts before her. Through Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, the Government would ensure that its perspective was also made known to Ms. Pillay and that once the inaccuracies in the figures were pointed out to the Office of the High Commissioner, the Government hoped a correction or total retraction would be forthcoming.