As  a Sri Lankan living  now in the UK, I was dismayed to see a report in The Times here  that 20 000 civilians had been killed during the final assault on the Tamil Tigers.  It is suggested that most of these casualties were the result of shelling and bombing by the Sri Lankan forces, a much smaller number the result of Tiger fighters, (who were using civilians as a shield)  firing on them as they tried to escape.

I cannot believe that a deliberate massacre of civilians was  ordered by the Government or that army commanders, exasperated by the delay in the surrender of the Tigers and the obvious difficulty  of differentiating between  Tiger fighters and the civilians in that restricted area,  overstepped their mandate, causing unnecessary  civilian deaths. 

It would be foolish to deny that many civilians would have been killed in the crossfire between the fighting forces, but to put that number at 20,000 would  be irresponsible. 

It is therefore important for the Government to prepare a clear cut, comprehensive statement on the happenings in those last days of the fighting, both for the information of the nation on whose behalf  they were fighting, and of the international community who are scrutinizing our human rights record. Sri Lankan government  spokesmen have been woefully inept in presenting the Government’s view.