TNA demands foreign probe after Sri Lanka war report

AFP: Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party Thursday demanded an international probe after the UN admitted it failed to protect thousands of civilians killed by troops in the final phase of the country’s conflict in 2009.

The moderate Tamil National Alliance said the report published by the UN Secretary General’s office confirmed its long-standing allegations of widespread killing and incarceration of civilians.

“Now that the UN has come with this report we want action,” Party Spokesman M. A. Sumanthiran told AFP.

“There should be an international inquiry. The Government as the main accused party cannot be involved in the investigation.”

Sri Lanka has resisted previous calls for an independent probe and instead appointed a domestic commission to recommend measures to prevent Sri Lanka from slipping back into ethnic war.

“We would like to see reparations, restitution, and justice for the people who suffered,” Sumanthiran said. “No one can say that these allegations should not be investigated.”

The UN report commissioned by Ban Ki-moon to look into the UN’s own role in Sri Lanka reinforced claims by international rights groups that up to 40,000 civilians could have been killed by Government forces.

“Other sources have referred to credible information indicating that over 70,000 people are unaccounted for,” the report noted, while placing the death toll at about 40,000.