Monday, September 21, 2009

UN urges Sri Lanka to investigate war crimes

       A top UN official issued a strong call for "truth-seeking" into alleged excesses by security forces when they wiped out Tamil rebels earlier this year.
       "We feel that ideally the Sri Lankans should carry out a national process of truth-seeking and accountability," the UN's political chief Lynn Pascoe said in a statement issued after his departure from Colombo on Friday.
       Mr Pascoe, undersecretary-general for political affairs, asked Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to set up a "serious, independent and impartial"process to investigate alleged war crimes.
       Sri Lanka has consistently resisted US- and European-led calls for war crimes investigations, saying that no civilians were killed by its security forces.
       Before leaving the island, Mr Pascoe expressed "strong concerns" over Tamil war refugees, and said the government had been slow to resettle tens of thousands of displaced civilians.

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