Sri Lanka nationalist group protests against UK warning

November 21, 2013 04:17 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 07:57 pm IST - Colombo

A Sri Lankan Buddhist nationalist group today staged a protest against British Prime Minister David Cameron’s warning to institute an international inquiry into the alleged human rights violations during the war against the LTTE.

Activists of Ravana Balaya demonstrated in front of the UK’s embassy here demanding that Britain investigate the crimes of its own troops in British Ceylon in 1818.

In a communique handed over to the embassy, Ittakande Saddatissa, a Buddhist monk and Ravana Balaya chief, said, “We have found very clear evidence to prove as to how the British Army executed captured freedom fighters without going through a proper judicial process.

“There were evidences that the British Army had opened fire indiscriminately at civilians, including children while destroying paddy fields by setting fire to them.”

Mr. Cameron had, on the sidelines of the summit, warned Sri Lanka that his Government would work with the UN Human Rights Council to set up an international inquiry if the country failed to address rights concerns by March next year.

Mr. Rajapaksa had rejected Mr. Cameron’s warning, saying countries should not “dictate” to Sri Lanka.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.