SRI LANKA TO PROBE U.S. CHARGES OF POSSIBLE WAR CRIMES

SRI LANKA WILL PROBE RIGHTS ABUSES & WAR CRIMES
DURING CIVIL WAR AGAINST THE TAMIL TIGERS

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's president will appoint a home-grown committee to probe a U.S. State Department report of possible war crimes at the end of Sri Lanka's 25-year war against the Tamil Tigers, the government said on Monday. Sri Lanka is facing heavy Western pressure over its human rights record, which the government blames on members of the Tamil diaspora who have settled in European countries or the United States and are angry the Tigers were beaten. The United States issued a report on Thursday detailing possible atrocities by both government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the final battle of the 25-year war, and urged Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations.

Sri Lanka had already rejected the report as unsubstantiated. The decision to appoint a local panel is unlikely to satisfy the West, given Sri Lanka's long history of inquiries into rights abuse that have largely failed to hold anyone accountable. A probe into the massacre of 17 aid workers in 2006 blamed on security forces was wound up prematurely. The State Department report, requested by Congress, recounted allegations of government shelling of civilians during the early months of 2009 and killing of LTTE fighters who had surrendered. It also accused the Tigers, who were listed as a terrorist organization by more than 30 countries, of recruiting children to fight and keeping thousands of Tamils as human shields by killing those who tried to flee.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Now, this is the world of suffering ... Because we have got three sources of affliction. One is adhyatmika, second is adhibhautika, and the third is adhidaivika. That is, physically we have got number of diseases. Daily we are suffering from physical sufferings and mental sufferings. Mentally, that we want repeated not away. Then my mind will be disturbed. Mind will suffer, mind. Which the mind doesn't like if comes nearer then the mind will suffer. ... And the second one is we are suffering due to people of this universe, all the universe. And due to beasts and birds and animals or any, any poisonous insect we suffer. And because suffering is knowing and always we suffer due to war, due to sufferings of humanity and all the beasts and birds, due to congregational suffering, we are unhappy.

Srila Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaj:
"Lecture given in Novo Mesto, Slovenia 26.6.1999"