International misunderstanding on Sri Lanka war disappointing

Wrong assumption and misunderstanding in the international community over Sri Lanka's successful military campaign which eliminated the Tamil Tigere rebels was disappointing, the defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said here Tuesday.

"Some of these assumptions and misunderstandings have proven hard to shake even to this day. This is deeply disappointing to the government because one of the most important facets of the war against terrorism was the immense care with which it was conducted. "

He was addressing the three-day seminar aimed at sharing the knowledge on comprehensive and effective counter terrorism strategy.

The defence ministry said some 45 countries including the U.S., India, China and Russia are attending with the participation of some 300 delegates.

Rajapaksa said that sadly a number of figures in the international community formed very strong opinions and jumped to hasty conclusions on Sri Lanka's conduct of war.

He said the international community had a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of the Tamil Tigers and the necessity to eradicate it.

He said the rebels' propaganda machinery had created a false narrative "in which the LTTE rebels assumed the guise of a liberation army for an oppressed population. This is far from the truth".

The report by a panel appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon and made public last month accuses the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tiger rebels of committing war crimes during the final stage of the conflict which ended in May 2009.

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