BY Udani Wimalaratne

	Prof Wijesinha, MP says the government has a clear idea about civilian casualties

Rajiva Wijesinha, MP, and advisor to the president on reconciliation made the remarks in an interview with BBC Hardtalk.

The Hardtalk programme says that the Sri Lankan government has no clear idea on the civilian deaths even though the war has ended more that two years ago.

But Prof Wijesinghe categorically deny the suggestion saying that the government has very clear idea on the civilian casualties.

He noted that all together 5000 civilians have been killed during the final period of war.

'40,000 civilians killed'

As the head of the government peace secretariat at that time, he said, he had monitored pro-rebel Tamil Net website regularly and he had inquired from the military if there was excessive increase of the civilian casualties.

However, according to a report by the UN expert panel set up by the Secretary General, around 40,000 civilians were killed during the war in Sri Lanka.

Defending the government’s responsibility of civilian deaths reported by the UN panel report, Prof Wijesinghe said that lot of details were largely based on video footage that British Channel4 aired and the information obtained by former UN spokesperson in Sri Lanka Gordon Weise during the war period.

The Sri Lankan military is accused of shelling on makeshift hospitals in the conflict zone.

The locations were being given to the army by the ICRC aiming at preventing attacks on those locations.

Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya, Prof Wijesinghe said that the Sri Lankan Army targeted the locations where the LTTE had hidden heavy weapons however he also noted that “collateral damage” can be happened in any kind of war.

He added that total casualties would have been about 5000 including the people killed by the LTTE as the LTTE also carried out their attacks on the civilian areas.