Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka figures in disappearance probe

COLOMBO: The conduct of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka figured in complaints received by a government commission probing disappearances during the country's civil war, a senior official said today.

The complaints against the IPKF was received during the sitting of a 3-member disappearances probe panel in the former conflict zone in the eastern province. "We began our sittings in Chenkaladi and called some 60 cases. There were also new cases numbering 250," HW Gunadasa, panel's Secretary said.

Gunadasa said those who appeared before the panel cited cases where the Indian peace troopers had been allegedly responsible. But our terms of reference covers only the period between "1990 and 2009", Gunadasa said. The IPKF was invited by the then Sri Lankan President JR Jayawardene as a result of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of July 1987 which he entered with the then Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi.

The peacekeepers departed Sri Lanka's north and east in March of 1990. India lost nearly 1,200 troops during the conflict. A panel has been set up to inquire into and report of alleged abductions or disappearances during June 10, 1990-May 19, 2009.