Reconciliation in Sri Lanka cannot take place without accountability, said British MPs while calling on the UK government to take a lead in seeking accountability for human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

Moving a debate Tamil Rights in Sri Lanka in Westminster Hall on Tuesday, James Berry MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, said "it is beyond sensible dispute that thousands of civilians were killed in [the] no-fire zone."

On Sri Lanka's reaction to the UN Panel of Experts report, Mr Berry said,

"Instead of engaging with the UN report in a meaningful or sensible way, the Sri Lankan Government arrogantly rejected it, describing it as “fundamentally flawed” and “patently biased”. Sri Lanka did nothing to address the alleged human rights abuses at the end of the war. Not a single prosecution was instigated. It is reasonable to surmise that the Sri Lankan Government hoped that the international community would turn the other way."

The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) General Secretary and UPFA MP Udaya Gammanpila said that his party would propose an Act of Indemnity to protect Sri Lankan troops from war crimes charges.

Speaking in Sri Lankan parliament on Tuesday, ahead of the release of a United Nations investigation into the mass killings of Tamil civilians, Mr Gammanpilla said:

“The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report on Sri Lanka will be published tomorrow. If the report calls for war crimes charges to be levelled against our war heroes, we will present an Indemnity Act in parliament to provide them legal immunity”.

“This Act is not something new,” added the MP.

“Even Sri Lanka has implemented it at least thrice to protect our officials. Once it was brought in 1915 by the State Council with regard to the Sinhala, Muslim riots and twice by UNP governments to protect officials from being questioned for any action taken during the 1977 and 1987 riots.”

Mr Gammanpila went on reassure Sri Lankan soldiers that the PHU's Ranaviru Legal Aid Foundation was “ready to protect them” from any war crimes charges.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Subinay Nandy, said the global body would provide technical assistance and contributions to advance reconciliation and find a sustainable solution to the longstanding ethnic grievances, reports ColomboPage.

Mr Nandy met with President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday, ahead of the release of a United Nations investigation into violations of international humanitarian law committed during the final stages of the armed conflict.

Freedom From Torture called on the UN Human Rights Council to follow through on a United Nations report into violations of international humanitarian law committed on the island that was released earlier today and ensure that a justice process has “strong international participation”.

The UK based charity’s Director of Advocacy and Policy Sonya Sceats said:

Strong UNHRC resolutions calling for international investigation mechanisms and action to alleviate oppression in the North-East will be vital to fulfil the needs of war victims, the Chief Minister of the Northern Province has said.

Speaking at the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) committee meeting on Friday, the Chief Minister, C V Wigneswaran said:

Together Against Genocide (TAG) unreservedly welcomes the report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka.  We urge the government of Sri Lanka to accept in whole the recommendations of the report.
 
This is a hopeful first step on the long road to justice. Each of the lives lost remains precious to us and we continue to hope to see them fully accounted for and their families granted Justice.