by Shamindra Ferdinando

In the wake of war crimes allegations against Sri Lanka over accountability issues, the Census and Statistics Department is in the process of conducting field tests ahead of an unprecedented census to establish the number of deaths, injuries to persons and property damage due to second JVP insurrection and the separatist war. 

Census and Statistics chief D. C.A. Gunawardena yesterday told The Island that the project could be completed within six months. The census was expected to get underway next month.

Responding to a query Gunawardena said that the proposed census was the first of its kind conducted in the country. According to him, the department was in the process of finalising the questionnaire.

 Another senior official told The Island that the Census Department had already conducted some field tests in areas affected by JVP insurgency in the late 80s, in parts of Polonnaruwa district, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu.

 Commenting on a census conducted in the Northern Province soon after the conclusion of the conflict, the official said that their endeavour was to establish accurate figures relating to deaths and injuries caused due to southern and northern terrorism.

The special census would also deal with those killed during operations conducted by the Indian Army during Oct. 1987-March 1990 period, security sources said. During that period hundreds of LTTE cadres died in confrontations with the Indian army apart from several hundreds of civilian deaths also due to Indian operations. 

 Sources said that a detailed census could reveal the number of Tamil civilians killed by the LTTE as well as other separatist groups and deaths due to inter and intra-group clashes. The census could highlight the level of Indian intervention in Sri Lanka since early 1980s.