Sri Lanka ‘nothing to fear’ from war crime probe

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Published on 21/03/2013 00:00

THE soldier who led the military campaign to defeat Tamil Tiger rebels said Sri Lanka should not fear an inquiry into its conduct during the civil war after a United Nations report alleged the government may be to blame for thousands of civilian deaths.

Former army commander-turned-politician Sarath Fonseka spoke as international pressure has been growing for an independent investigation into possible war crimes.

The UN Human Rights Council is discussing a draft resolution, and rights groups and foreign governments have called for a probe of the civil war that ended in 2009, after the government troops crushed the rebels.

The Tamil Tigers fought for a separate state for the ethnic minority Tamils for more than 25 years. A UN investigation indicated the ethnic Sinhalese-dominated government might have killed 40,000 Tamil civilians in the war’s final months.

“Accountability is something that you can’t ignore basically,” Mr Fonseka told Colombo-based foreign correspondents.

He added that he was ready to answer if someone questioned him. He said the battles were fought according to international rules and conventions but there still could be questions.

The government and military leaders “should be able to answer the questions if any queries are made about the conduct of the soldiers and the manner the operations were conducted,” he said.