“Government should probe charges anyway” – Sarath Fonseka

While rejecting a majority of the war crimes charges in the UNHRC report, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka called upon the government, yesterday, to probe the charges anyway; asserting that there could be isolated incidents which had led to the charges levelled against Sri Lankan security forces personnel.

He said that, as far as he was aware, there had been no killing of civilians who had surrendered during the last phase of the war, as alleged in the report.

“We can’t accept all the charges as true. However, the charges should be probed in case soldiers had been ordered by another military official to kill civilians. I have no objection to probing the charges, as probing them would clear the name of Sri Lanka if the charges are baseless; if not, action should be taken against the officials responsible,” he said at a media briefing.

When asked about his opinion on the UNHRC’s call for a ‘hybrid court’ to probe the charges, he said the suggestion had been made due to the seriousness of the charges, and that it was a great opportunity to probe the charges, with domestic help, in a more open manner.

The Welikada riot, the Rathupaswela protest, disappearances, abductions, the mass graves in Matale and Mannar, and the killing of Raviraj and Ekneligoda had also been highlighted in the report, he said.

He asked people not to panic because of the contents of the report, and said it was the duty of the government and the people to assist in conducting a credible probe. “I will provide my support if needed — in the inquiries and other related areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Field Marshal criticised the Attorney General (AG) and the AG’s Department over decisions taken in connection with some of the court cases, including those involving the Avant Garde Company and the detention of Sajin de Vass Gunawardane. “The AG has become a joke today.

Even the UN report had stressed that the legal system and justice, immunity and equality should be strengthened,” he said. He also said the people did not seem to be willing to reject corrupt politicians, as most of the corrupt people had been elected to parliament at the general elections. “The people should take the responsibility for this,” he said.