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Sri Lanka Military denies fresh war crimes allegations
The Sri Lankan military on Tuesday rejected fresh allegations raised against the army over its conduct during the final stages of the war against Tamil Tiger rebels.
Sri Lanka Army spokesperson P. Wanigasooriya said that the fresh allegations came at a time when the UN Human Rights Council is scheduled to convene in Geneva at the end of this month.
In a new video released by a British television channel, images are shown of the 12- year-old son of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran having biscuits in what seems like an army bunker before he was allegedly shot dead.
The video claimed that the images are evidence of extra judicial killings carried out by the army during the final stages of the war against the Tamil Tigers.
Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran and several other rebels as well as their family members were believed to have been killed during the battle which ended in May 2009 with the defeat of the rebels.
"No substantive evidence has been presented for us to launch an investigation. Unfortunately, it appears that the parties who float such baseless allegations never want these to be investigated or solved. They want to keep them as mysteries in order to tarnish the country's good image as and when it suits their agendas," Wanigasooriya said.
He said that if there is a genuine attempt to bring the perpetrators over such allegations to book then the parties concerned should make the complaints with the police and back it with evidence instead of floating rumors and baseless allegations through the Internet and other forms of media.
"I wish they were more interested in having these investigated, and if they cooperate with credible evidence we shall solve these once and for all," he said.
Sri Lanka has been under continuous pressure to conduct an independent international probe into allegations of human rights abuses during the final stages of the war.
However the Sri Lankan government has rejected such a probe, stating that the military has not been involved in any war crimes of human rights abuses.
Sri Lanka army denies fresh war crimes allegations > Global Times
The Sri Lankan military on Tuesday rejected fresh allegations raised against the army over its conduct during the final stages of the war against Tamil Tiger rebels.
Sri Lanka Army spokesperson P. Wanigasooriya said that the fresh allegations came at a time when the UN Human Rights Council is scheduled to convene in Geneva at the end of this month.
In a new video released by a British television channel, images are shown of the 12- year-old son of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran having biscuits in what seems like an army bunker before he was allegedly shot dead.
The video claimed that the images are evidence of extra judicial killings carried out by the army during the final stages of the war against the Tamil Tigers.
Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran and several other rebels as well as their family members were believed to have been killed during the battle which ended in May 2009 with the defeat of the rebels.
"No substantive evidence has been presented for us to launch an investigation. Unfortunately, it appears that the parties who float such baseless allegations never want these to be investigated or solved. They want to keep them as mysteries in order to tarnish the country's good image as and when it suits their agendas," Wanigasooriya said.
He said that if there is a genuine attempt to bring the perpetrators over such allegations to book then the parties concerned should make the complaints with the police and back it with evidence instead of floating rumors and baseless allegations through the Internet and other forms of media.
"I wish they were more interested in having these investigated, and if they cooperate with credible evidence we shall solve these once and for all," he said.
Sri Lanka has been under continuous pressure to conduct an independent international probe into allegations of human rights abuses during the final stages of the war.
However the Sri Lankan government has rejected such a probe, stating that the military has not been involved in any war crimes of human rights abuses.
Sri Lanka army denies fresh war crimes allegations > Global Times
