British MPs hail US initiative on Sri Lanka warcrimes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 05:17 GMT]
Joining international calls for a full independent investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, a group of British Parliamentarians Tuesday welcomed the initiatives taken by the United States in this regard and urged the UK government to support Washington’s efforts. In a statement, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) welcomed US authorities questioning of Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka over the massacre of Tamil civilians in the closing months of the war this year.

“This is an important first step in bringing the perpetrators of alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka to justice and also begin the process of a true reconciliation between ethnic communities in the island,” the APPG-T said.

APPG-T said it will be requesting UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband to support the US Government's efforts to probe into war crimes in Sri Lanka and to also fully endorse the US Department of State’s Report to Congress submitted on 22 October 2009, which detailed alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by both warring parties during the military offensive this year.

“GSL must facilitate an international, independent inquiry into alleged violations of IHL in order to establish peace, justice and equality for all citizens in Sri Lanka,” the Parliamentary group said.

Apart from Colombo’s massacres during the war, the APPG-T also protested the treatment of civilians after the Sinhala government declared victory over the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).