No-one can give deadlines: LLRC

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) said today that neither the UN nor the government could pressurise the LLRC to complete the commission’s report immediately in order to present it to the UN General Assembly next month.

LLRC Spokesman, Lakshman Wickremasinghe responding to reports that certain members of the international community had requested Sri Lanka to produce a report on war crimes allegations against the country before September 21, the UN General Assembly’s next session, said that the LLRC report would not be completed by next month.

“The commission’s due date is November 15 and that is when we intend on handing in the report as we are duty bound to give it by then. No one can tell us what to do or when we have to do it,” Wickremasinghe said.

He said the LLRC has never come under pressure from the government and said the government is unlikely to request the commission to complete its report in a hurried fashion. Government officials said recently that the US State Department and other international agencies had requested a report on the war next month at the UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile the US has requested for the LLRC report to be presented at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March next year. The ‘Darusman’ report compiled by the panel appointed by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki moon is expected to be discussed at the upcoming UNHRC sessions in September. (Olindhi Jayasundere)