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Sri Lanka | |||||
Sri Lankan president and family involved in war crimes against Tamils | |||||
2010-12-08 | |||||
WikiLeaks Staff, 1 December 2010, 19.00 GMT great story, one of many Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family are responsible for alleged war crimes against the Tamil, according to a cable sent by US ambassador to Sri Lanka Patricia Butenis. Butenis said complicity in alleged war crimes by the president and leader of the opposition was stalling progress in launching investigations into the country's civil war.
Ambassador Butenis noted there had been some limited progress in investigating potential war crimes, but noted: "There are no examples we know of a regime undertaking wholesale investigations of its own troops or senior officials for war crimes while that regime or government remained in power.
With regard to alleged LTTE war crimes, Butenis noted: "Most of the LTTE leadership was killed at the end of the war, leaving few to be held responsible for those crimes. The Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) is holding thousands of mid- and lower-level ex-LTTE combatants for future rehabilitation and/or criminal prosecution. It is unclear whether any such prosecutions will meet international standards."
Rajapaksa was also scheduled to speak at the Oxford Union on Thursday until the university issued a statement cancelling the event on Wednesday afternoon. The statement cited "security concerns" due to the large number of protestors expected to picket the event.
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Posted by:anon1 |