New Evidence Against Sri Lankan Govt

The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the Tamil associations in Australia and New Zealand would like to bring to the attention of the Australian and New Zealand governments and the independent media that new evidence has emerged that the extra-judicial killings of surrendering or captured members of the rebel Tamil Tiger group were ordered by the Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

A person who held a very senior position in the armed forces during the final period of the war, having access to the flow of orders and strategy and holding a high level security clearance have made statements regarding this in an affidavit. According to the “The International” an independent news organization that investigates economic and social issues across the world and head quartered in New York with bureaus in London and Toronto, this affidavit was prepared by a lawyer and witnessed by a public official of the state of New York. “The International” claims that it has obtained this affidavit as a part of an investigative report on the civil war, published on Wednesday. This news report can be accessed at: http://www.theinternational.org/articles/184-exclusive-sri-lankan-government-gave-ord

This army officer alleges that extra-judicial killings of surrendering or captured members of the rebel Tamil Tiger group were committed as "standard operating procedure" during the last months of the war. He claims that he was informed that the Defence Secretary had passed on "some instructions to a field commander to get rid of those LTTE cadres who are surrendering." Beside the seniority of this army officer and the legally-binding nature of his testimony, what is particularly significant about the allegations made by this officer is that they appear to corroborate many of the most serious claims levelled at the government of Sri Lanka by the United Nations, prominent human rights organizations and a series of reports made by Channel 4 news regarding abuses carried out by the army, claims “The International”. This officer has also talked about the Sri Lankan government giving a free hand to paramilitary groups to carry out extrajudicial killings.

In another statement obtained by “The International”, a civilian witness also alleges that the Sri Lankan army committed war crimes. This witness has stated that the Sri Lankan army directed “several attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure” including the use of civilians as "human shields." He has stated that hospitals were bombed and he was present when the UN food distribution point was hit by Government attacks in Sudandarpuram in January 2009," resulting in the deaths of "a lot of children, pregnant women and mothers." He also said that he "witnessed the bombing of a church in Raddaivaaikaal in March 2009."

The emergence of this fresh evidence on war crimes just a week after the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) at its 47th sessions indicting Sri Lanka of ongoing torture and ill treatment of civilians, should escalate the call for independent international investigations on war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sri Lanka. The UNCAT report can be found at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats47.htm

AFTA calls upon the Australian and New Zealand governments to immediately demand for an independent international investigation and the independent media to report on these new developments and bring pressure on both these governments to act without further delay.

ENDS

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