UN Asks Sri Lanka for Investigation into War Crimes

A UN official, following wrapping up a visit to Sri Lanka, has issued a strong call for “truth seeking” into alleged excesses committed by Lankan military in the course of offensive against Tamil rebels, said a UN statement.

“We feel that ideally the Sri Lankans should carry out a national process of truth-seeking and accountability,” said Lynn Pascoe, the UN’s political chief, in the statement issued in Colombo after his departure late Friday.

Undersecretary general for political affairs, Pascoe appealed to President Mahinda Rajapakse to establish a process for ensuring accountability for alleged war crimes, said the statement.

“The (truth-seeking) process has to be serious, independent and impartial,” said Pascoe, a deputy to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Needless to mention, Sri Lanka has been constantly resisting the US- and European-led appeals for investigation into war crimes, alleging that its security forces didn’t kill any civilian.

“Coming to grips with the past is difficult,” the UN statement said, adding, “Sweeping it under the rug could be a tempting shortcut, but it can have a high price at a later time.”

Expressing “strong concerns” over war refugees at a press conference just before leaving, Pascoe said that the government had been slow to resettle tens of thousands of displaced civilians.

“We have not seen the progress we expected from that agreement,” he said of a deal between Colombo and Ban in May, just after the government declared that the decades-long separatist war was over.

The agreement was for the speedy resettlement of 300,000 internally displaced people who were driven out of their homes after the end of fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.