P’ment approves post-war reconciliation panel

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s parliament voted on Wednesday to establish a special committee to tackle political and ethnic reconciliation, one of two post-war tasks the United States and others have linked to averting an external war crimes probe.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, popular among the Sinhalese majority population, wants Sri Lanka to have its own political deal with the Tamil minority, as well as other groups including Muslims and Christians.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fought a 25-year war to create a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka after mistreatment since independence from Britain in 1948.

The United States and others have said striking a deal with Tamils and taking action to address allegations of war crimes would avert the need for an international probe into charges that atrocities were committed in the final months of the war.

Rajapaksa is expected release next month a final report by a Sri Lankan panel that looked into war crimes allegations. The United States has said the report must be credible.