The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday stressed the need for a “credible and independent investigation” into the allegations of human rights violations and killings during the last phase of the war in Sri Lanka against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
In a statement, the Polit Bureau said that even though the ethnic conflict ended there three years ago with the defeat of the LTTE, the question of bringing to book those accused of ‘war crimes' had not been addressed.
It pointed out that even though Colombo had constituted a Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to go into the matter, its recommendations made five months ago had still not been implemented. The Indian government should take the stand at the U.N. Human Rights Council that the Sri Lankan government should implement the LLRC recommendations without further delay. These include a credible investigation into the allegations of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances and a political settlement involving the devolution of powers to the provinces.
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“Given the growing evidence of killings of civilians and serious human rights violations, it is necessary to have a credible and independent investigation into these charges. All those responsible should be held accountable and brought to book,” the statement said.