“The publication of this report will cause irreparable damage to the reconciliation efforts of Sri Lanka. It will damage the UN system too.”
- G. L. Peiris, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister.
“To speak of an ongoing process of reconciliation in Sri Lanka that will be complicated by international and UN investigations or interest in the last stages of the war, and the crimes that seem to have been committed, is just nonsensical.”
- Alan Keenan, International Crisis Group’s senior analyst on Sri Lanka.
“The UN secretary-general believes that the panel has done a good and conscientious job and that the results of the report will speak for themselves. … This is a very serious issue and it is very important that this report comes out.”
- Farhan Haq, deputy UN spokesman.
“The government's aggressive efforts to suppress the report and deny any wrongdoing only confirm that justice won't come from a domestic process.
“Ban has done the right thing by creating the advisory panel and announcing that he would make its report public. He should now follow up his panel's advice by creating an international commission of inquiry."
- Philippe Bolopion, Human Rights Watch's UN director.