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UN to urge Sri Lankan probe on war crimes
Sydney Morning Herald - March 23, 2012
In a dramatic vote in Geneva yesterday, the 47-nation council voted in favour of a resolution that said Sri Lanka's domestic investigation did "not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international law".
The carefully worded resolution calls on Sri Lanka to ensure "justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation", following the end of the country's long-running and bloody civil war.
A UN panel of experts report last year found up to 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the government's final offensive against the Tamil Tigers in the country's north. The report found the government deliberately shelled hospitals and no-fire zones where it had encouraged civilians to shelter.
The Sri Lanka government says it was fighting a ruthless terrorist organisation, and pursued a "zero civilian casualty" policy.
At the UN, as the US, which sponsored the resolution along with Norway and France, sought backers, Sri Lanka fiercely opposed it and lobbied countries to vote it down.
The Sri Lankan government's chief whip in parliament, Dinesh Gunawardena, said the resolution was "ill-timed, ill-conceived and borne out of ignorance".
This year, the International Commission of Jurists gave the Australian Federal Police a brief of evidence alleging Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Australia, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, was guilty of war crimes. He denied the allegations.
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