Sri Lanka's detained ex-army chief denies war crimes

Sri Lanka's detained former army chief on Thursday said there were no war crimes committed under his command but was not aware whether orders came from elsewhere. Rights groups this week took advantage of the first anniversary this week of the end of the 25-year war to make a renewed push for a probe into possible war crimes violations in the final months of the conflict with the Tamil Tiger separatists. A report by the International Crisis Group, which did not reveal the evidence it said it possessed, alleged "top government and military leaders (were) potentially responsible" for war crimes. The government has consistently denied wrongdoing. In the runup to the presidential poll in January, General Sarath Fonseka, who lost in a landslide to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was quoted as saying senior rebels who surrendered with white flags were gunned down on orders from above. He later denied the report and it was retracted. Sri Lanka is facing heavy Western pressure over its human rights record, which the government blames on members of the Tamil diaspora who are angry the Tigers were beaten in their struggle for a separate state. The European Union is due to withdraw a trade preference amounting to $150 million annually that helps Sri Lanka's top export, garments, after finding the country failed to adhere to a number of rights conventions required under the scheme.