斯里兰卡总统呼吁民族和解

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena pledged Wednesday to pursue national reconciliation in a country still divided by a decades-long civil war that ended nearly six years ago.

He spoke in Colombo at an Independence Day ceremony that paid respect to all those killed in the 26-year war that pitted government forces against rebels seeking an independent state for Sri Lanka\'s Tamil minority.

"The biggest challenge today is to unite the hearts of the people of the north and south through a national reconciliation process," Mr. Sirisena said.

The president was elected last month, defeating former leader Mahinda Rajapaska, whose government rejected an international investigation into allegations of possible war crimes during the conflict.

Government troops killed as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians during the offensive that ended the war in 2009, according to a United Nations report. The U.N. has said the total death toll during the war could be as high as 100,000 people.

西里塞纳在科伦坡举行的独立日庆典上发表了讲话。独立日庆典对在26年内战的丧生者表示哀悼。泰米尔少数民族在内战中跟政府军作战寻求独立。

西里塞纳说：“目前最大的挑战是通过民族和解进程使南北部民众团结一心。”

西里塞纳上个月击败前领导人拉贾帕克萨当选总统。拉贾帕克萨政府拒绝让国际社会对内战中可能犯下的战争罪进行调查。

联合国的一份报告说，斯里兰卡政府军在2009年结束对泰米尔武装攻势时，打死了4万泰米尔族平民。联合国说，斯里兰卡内战的死亡人数多达10万人。