Amnesty International’s Chief Executive in India has said that a UN-led impartial investigation is the only way to achieve justice for victims of Sri Lankan war crimes.
Mr G Ananthapadmanabhan told the Hindu that justice could only be ensured by an investigation which was impartial and led by the United Nations, saying,
“There is a huge responsibility on the Sri Lankan government to ensure impartial investigation, followed by justice for these crimes. There have been lots of promises and some efforts with the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission [LLRC]. But we know that the latest report released in July on the progress in LLRC was cosmetic,”
“There should be punishment based on the findings of the investigation. Officially, Amnesty is not welcome to Sri Lanka at this time … but we have our own ways to find out what is going on there.”
On the upcoming TESO (Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation) conference, which Mr Ananthapadmanabhan will be attending he said,
“There is no doubt that it [the conference] is a political meet. Yes, it is a platform that is political and politicised, but also a platform to raise the issue. The truth is also that there is a genuine empathy and feeling among the ordinary public in [Tamil Nadu] for the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka.”
“What we want to remind the Government of India and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is that the relationship with Sri Lanka is just not a relationship between the governments but between the people of both countries”.
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