President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who faces elections in a fortnight, on Tuesday promised to initiate a transparent, judicial inquiry probing allegations of war crimes against the Sri Lankan army.
He made the announcement while releasing his election manifesto ahead of the January 8 presidential election, which promises to be one of the closest contests in the island’s recent history.
Mr. Rajapaksa, who has refused to cooperate with the ongoing U.N.-mandated probe into alleged rights abuses, said: “If any rights have been violated [during the war], justice will be ensured through a transparent domestic judicial mechanism.”
The promise echoed with that made by Maithripala Sirisena, his principal challenger, who has assured he would protect Mr. Rajapaksa from an international probe but said he would strengthen domestic processes if elected to power.
Mr. Rajapaksa, who has been campaigning widely across the island, said he would consider constitutional reforms. “I will, with the support of everyone, go towards a new constitution.”
Critics have voiced concern over Mr. Rajapaksa rewriting the Sri Lankan constitution by removing the two-term limit on presidency. Civil society groups and sections of public intellectuals in Sri Lanka have also been campaigning for the abolition of executive presidency, which has now emerged a key theme for the joint opposition platform challenging him.
In his campaign, President Rajapaksa, seeking a record third term in office, has been highlighting his efforts to bring an end to terrorism by defeating the LTTE in May 2009.
“At this election, decide if we should go back to a destabilised era or go forward with strength and stability,” he said, while releasing his manifesto.
