(October 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The US embassy in Colombo defending the US Congress report dealing with incidents during the final months of the conflict in the north said the information was based on first accounts communicated from persons within the no-fire zone and areas close to fighting.
The text of the statement follows;
Colombo, October 22, 2009: The United States Department of State delivered to Congressional Appropriations Committee staff yesterday a report detailing incidents that allegedly occurred during the final months of the conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the terrorist organization LTTE that may constitute violations of international humanitarian law or crimes against humanity and related harms. The Department of State prepared the report pursuant to a Congressional request and also provided a copy to the Sri Lankan Embassy.
The report compiles alleged incidents, as reported by a wide range of primary and secondary sources, involving both sides in the conflict. It does not reach any legal or factual conclusions. Information concerning the majority of incidents cited in this report originated in first-hand accounts communicated by persons from within the government-declared No Fire Zones and locations close to the fighting.
The United States recognizes a state’s inherent right to defend itself from armed attacks, including those by non-state actors, such as a terrorist group like the LTTE. The United States also expects states and non-state actors to comply with their international legal obligations, including the obligation to protect civilians in armed conflict.
Accountability is an essential component of national reconciliation. The United States looks to the Government of Sri Lanka to identify an appropriate and credible mechanism and initiate a process for accountability. -Sri Lanka Guardian
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So has the US congressmen done a report on its own war crimes?
• Using nuclear weapons (WMD) on the Japanese people.
• Using chemical weapons (napalm) on the Vietnamese people.
• Illegal detention of Muslims in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba without any legal representation for the inmates kept in torturous conditions.
• War on Iraq over fraudulent claims of WMD and the invasion of a sovereign nation. No one has been accounted for the loss of lives on this war based on deceit and greed.
• Aiding and abetting the Taliban movement and creating the world a dangerous place to live in.
• Loss of innocent human lives in Afghanistan.
America is not in any position to judge anyone else on ‘War Crimes / Crimes Against Humanity’.
What exactly is the US government doing to bring the Sri Lankan government before a tribunal and impose the severest form of punishment for the massacre of thousands of Tamil civilians even after its numerous fact-finding missions have proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that the government is guilty of war crimes.
For that matter why did the US provide the necessary arms and military intelligence which facilitated military victory at the expense of innocent and hapless Tamil civilians.
I think it would be far better if US did nothing to probe the SL govt. Even as I write this the US and other western powers are pandering to the whims of the Rajapakse governement appeasing a naughty child.
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