UN Votes To Investigate Sri Lankan War Crimes

THE UN Human Rights Council has passed a resolution urging Sri Lanka to allow an independent investigation into allegations the government committed war crimes in its civil war against the Tamil Tigers.

The vote was passed with 24 countries in favor, 15 against, including China, Russia and Cuba. While international human rights groups have welcomed the decision, Sri Lankan leaders were angered, saying the resolution interfered in the country’s domestic affairs.

A statement issued by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Directors (CVCD), Sri Lanka said ‘The resolution brought by the United States of America against Sri Lanka is an ill-conceived and unnecessary intervention into the internal affairs of Sri Lanka. It symbolizes a threat to the dignity and sovereignty of all small nations’

An editorial in Sri Lanka’s Daily News said ‘as a sovereign state which has to ensure domestic stability and security, Sri Lanka is accountable to none.’

Hundreds of Buddhist monks prayed with Hindu, Muslim and Christian clergy for the resolution to be defeated.

A UN panel reported last year that as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final weeks of the 26-year-long war. They found ‘credible allegations’ of war crimes – by both sides, although they said most civilians had been killed by government artillery, which even deliberately targeted hospitals.