Rajapaksa, who was defeated in a January poll, said his government did not cooperate with the probe mainly because it was instituted outside the established procedure of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
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It was also pointed out that all these mechanisms will be evolved and designed through a wide process of consultations involving all stakeholders including victims, communities, political parties, civil society representatives, the military, the High Commissioner and his office, bilateral partners, relevant worldwide organizations as well as members of the diaspora who wish to be consulted.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister said more German companies should invest in Sri Lanka and take advantage of the islands skilled labour force and regional ties, during the visit of his German counterpart.
Germany is ready to help Sri Lanka investigate alleged atrocities during its civil war, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Tuesday.
The Sri Lankan government, however, has ruled out any option other than a purely domestic mechanism.
“Neither the OHCHR nor the UNHRC has the authority to set up an global war crimes tribunal”. Up until last November, Sirisena was a senior minister in the Rajapakse government, a close confidence of the former president and on several occasions served as acting defence minister. Towards this, Sri Lanka can make a positive contribution by recalling its Army to barracks in the north and returning the land to the Tamils to whom it belongs.
Ranil has assured Modi during the talks about the plans for reconciliation and rehabilitation of the Tamil minority.
Findings furthermore reveal accounts of unlawful killings allegedly carried out by both Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) against Tamil politicians, humanitarian workers, journalists and ordinary civilians including Muslim and Sinhalese minorities.
Lionised by sections of Indian Tamils in a hyper-political Tamil Nadu, the LTTE has been shown to be a terrorist organisation that waged war against the state.
If the report is “milder”, it is because the United States and its allies want no disruption to the new government which has aligned itself more closely with Washington. But Tamil leaders feel Sirisena’s moves are only symbolic aimed at warding off economic sanctions and Western pressure for an global inquiry into the war atrocities.
Rajapaksa points out that since Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, a case cannot be filed against Sri Lanka at the worldwide Court of Justice. Now they are aghast to find that their brethren across the Palk straits are plundering the marine life on the Sri Lankan side.
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The OISL recommended the establishment of “hybrid special courts integrating worldwide judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators” to investigate the crimes it identified.
