Sri Lanka blocks BBC from travelling to war commission in north

COLOMBO - The Government of Sri Lanka government has again blocked BBC News from travelling to the north to attend public hearings of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, which is looking into the country’s civil war.

While the defence ministry has refused to give reasons for preventing the BBC covering the story in Jaffna, human rights groups say the war commission, which started hearings in August, is not independent.

Post-war northern Sri Lanka remains heavily militarised and foreigners need defence ministry permission to visit most of it. Permission is often denied, the BBC reports.

This is the second time in two months that the government has blocked BBC News from travelling north to cover the hearings of the war commission, despite the fact that local journalists are travelling up from the capital, Colombo, for the same purpose.

The panel is gathering information about the final years of the war with the stated aim of preventing another one. (ANI)