"SELF DETERMINATION IS KEY TO THE WORLD PEACE"
Published On: Wed, Oct 19th, 2011
By eelamaran
With just over 10 days to go until the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) takes place in Perth, Australia, Sri Lanka has come under renewed pressure over allegations of war crimes.
It has been revealed that Sri Lanka’s most senior diplomat in Australia, High Commissioner Thisara Samarasinghe – a former navy admiral – is potentially subject to a war crimes investigation, after the International Commission of Jurists’ (ICJ) Australian section handed evidence of war crimes and crime against humanity by the Sri Lankan navy in 2009 to the Australian Federal Police. It is claimed Thisara Samarasinghe had command responsibility for naval operations, which allegedly fired on fired on fleeing civilian during the Sri Lankan civil war.
Already, dual Sri Lankan-Australian citizen and former Australian diplomat (now Sri Lanka’s representative to the United Nations) Palitha Kohona is under investigation by federal police over an incident in which surrendering soldiers were allegedly killed in the final days of the conflict, while last month the (now former) Deputy Ambassador for Sri Lanka in Germany, Switzerland and the Vatican, Jagath Dias, was forced to flee after reports he was to face an investigation. The Swiss Federal Attorney General has now stated Mr Dias will face an inquiry if he returns over “his personal involvement in the atrocities committed” during the Sri Lankan civil war.
Furthermore, the President of the Australian section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has called for Sri Lanka to be suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth pending a credible investigation into allegations of war crimes:
“If the Commonwealth is to mean anything at all on issues like human rights, it has to look to the actions of its members. This is one of its members who’s the putative next host in 2013 [...] they should, I think, suspend it (Sri Lanka) from the Councils of the Commonwealth until Sri Lanka does something about a war crimes tribunal and the other recommendations of the expert panel committee [...] And if it does continue to do nothing it has to look at suspending Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth because they’ve done it to other countries for offences less than war crimes.”
Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon has also renewed her calls for action to be taken by the Australian Government ahead of the impending arrival of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the end of October:
“The report … is extremely serious [...] With a delegation from Sri Lanka, headed up by their President Mahinda Rajapaksa due to arrive shortly in Perth for (the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting), the Australia government can no longer refuse to take action.”
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inside a torrent of allegations of war crimes against three senior officials, including Sri Lanka’s… »
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Global Peace Support Group UK Ltd is a registered organisation based in London. The organisation dedicated to be involved in humanitarian and other related issues. We also work along with other similar organisations to promote peace and harmony among various societies..
GLOBAL PEACE SUPPORT GROUP - UK - TIRELESSLY WORK ON THE CONCEPT OF:
"SELF DETERMINATION IS KEY TO THE WORLD PEACE"
MOURNS ON THE CONTINUED TRAGEDY OF THE PEOPLE OF North & East of Tamil EELAM WITH THE HOPE OF ALL OF OUR ENDEAVOURS WOULD BRING AN END TO THOSE SUFFERING DURING THE YEAR AHEAD.
The International community has a duty towards the long suffering Sri Lankan Tamil population to restore their rights of SELF DETERMINATION.
Global Peace Support Group - believes that this is the ONLY way for a permanent PEACE in Sri Lanka.
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