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Army advises govt to make its own rules of war

In its report on implementations of the LLRC, the Army's Board of Officers has advised the government to the create its own rules when dealing with 'internal war situations'.

In its report, the Board of Officers said:


“The Board observes that at present, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) principles, applicable to internal war situations have not adequately addressed various complex issues and the existing rules are seemingly applied to state actors only. Further, there are no specific guidelines with regard to the role of international humanitarian agencies in internal war situations. Hence, the Board recommends to formulate new domestic rules, covering internal war situations.”

“With regard to the presence of Military bases in the North and East, the Board observes that the Government has an absolute right to maintain its armed forces anywhere in the Island, according to the country’s strategic and security needs."

"The Board also notes that military bases are located causing minimum inconvenience to the public and in the aftermath of the Humanitarian Operation, all High Security Zones and many lands previously occupied by the armed forces have been released to the public. However, the Board recommends that the Army should appoint special boards, covering the 4 Security Forces Headquarters that are located in the North and East (Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaittivu, Wanni and East) to examine in detail with regard to the lands, presently occupied by the Army and only those lands that are vitally required for security purposes to be retained and such lands be legally acquired at the market value and, in addition, owners should be given alternative lands.”

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