No Need To Import Special Judges to Investigate Alleged War Crimes- President

Both the army and the Tamil Tiger rebels are accused of Human Rights violation in the civil war that ended in 2009. UN Director of Human Rights recommended a Hybrid Court to investigate Human Right violations in Srilanka. The government previously backed a UN resolution calling for a war crimes court supported by foreign judges.

During October 2015, Sri Lanka co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for a special judicial mechanism to prosecute war crimes to be established – with support from Commonwealth and foreign judges, prosecutors and investigators.

In a BBC interview the President of Sri Lanka has said foreign judges and prosecutors should not be involved in an investigation into allegations of war crimes and the country did not need to “import” specialists.

Further  the president said: “I will never agree to international involvement in this matter”.  “We have more than enough specialists, experts and knowledgeable people in our country to solve our internal issues,” he said.

“This investigation should be internal and indigenous, without violating the laws of the country, and I believe in the judicial system and other relevant authorities in this regard. “The international community need not worry about matters of State interest.”

More than 100,000 people are reported  to have died in the Sri Lankan civil conflict.

President Sirisena said that while the UN report released in September 2015 had pointed to army involvement in war crimes, the report had failed to mention names. He said it was important to determine whether such crimes actually took place.

He said: “If the Sri Lankan Army is alleged for such crimes, our concern should be to free them from those allegations. If anyone has committed a crime, there’s no doubt that they should be punished. However, it is wrong to make the entire army guilty for what happened.”

To a question by a journalist ,when the court might be set up, he said: “These things cannot be done instantly or in a hurried manner. “We will certainly reach our target but it’s a process.”

The president also dismissed reports from the advocacy group Freedom from Torture that people in detention were still being tortured,he responded thus “I totally deny that. If some one can prove with evidence, I am ready to give them the opportunity. Justice is served equally in this country.”