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 He later denied the report and it was retracted.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.