Soldiers dismount from an army vehicle near Dharmapuran, Sri Lanka, during the war in February 2009. [Reuters]

PHOTO

Soldiers dismount from an army vehicle near Dharmapuran, Sri Lanka, during the war in February 2009. [Reuters]

AUDIO from Asia Pacific: Janek Rogers

Sri Lanka war crimes allegations

Created: Tue, 25 Oct 21:45:54 UTC+0100 2011

Janek Rogers

Last Updated: Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:14:00 +1100

War crimes allegations against leading figures in the Sri Lankan government, and their diplomatic representatives in Australia, stem from the war against the Tamil separatists, the LTTE, which ended in 2009.

Under Australian law, war crimes prosecutions cannot go ahead without the consent of the nation’s top legal officer, the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland.

But Mr McClelland has refused to grant this consent, saying proceedings would be in breach of domestic law and Australia’s obligations under international law which give both diplomats and heads of state immunity from arrest and prosection.

Retired admiral Thisara Samarasinghe is the present Sri Lankan high commissioner to Australia, and a former commander of naval forces in the north of Sri Lanka, where some of the bloodiest fighting took place in 2009.

Unsubstantiated

He is now almost certain to avoid facing charges while in Australia, and denies the allegations against him.

"They are incorrect, untrue and unsubstantiated. I reject any such allegations," he told Radio Australia’s Asia Pacific program.

A United Nations report this year found it was "unable to accept the version of events held by the government of Sri Lanka".

It said the government deliberately shelled no-fire zones where it had encouraged civilians to shelter, as well as attacking the UN food distribution lines and Red Cross ships rescuing the wounded.

The report also heard credible allegations that the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) committed war crimes, including using civilians as human shields.

As many as 40,000 civilians lost their lives in the final stages of the war

Mr Samrasinghe maintains the military’s actions were irreproachable.

He said the "Sri Lankan government and military ensured human rights and democratic values . . . This was seriously threatened and thousands of civilians deliberately targeted and killed by terrorists".

The envoy said the government under President Mahinda Rajapakse had met the threat and defeated the terrorists.

President Rajapaksa is now in Perth, Western Australia, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and can enjoy his visit without fear of arrest