A Sri Lankan minister said that his government would not allow the arrest of former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for overseeing mass atrocities during the final phase of the armed conflict, which saw the deaths of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Public Enterprises Development Kabir Hashim said that any allegations raised against a Sri Lankan citizen will only be dealt with using local legislation.
“We will not allow a domestic issue to be dealt with internationally owing to outside pressure,” he added.
His remarks come as international pressure mounts on Sri Lanka to implement a UN resolution calling for international judges to be part of an accountability mechanism for mass atrocities, ahead of the next session of the UN Human Rights Council in June.
Last week American Tamils called on US authorities to arrest Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, after reports emerged that he was visiting the US.
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