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SRILANKA-UN-POLITICS-RAJAPAKSE-ELECTION
Rajapakse vows to scrap Sri Lanka war crimes probe if elected
COLOMBO, Oct 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Sri Lanka’s front-running presidential
candidate Gotabhaya Rajapakse vowed Tuesday that if elected he will scrap
Colombo’s pledge to investigate war crimes committed during his brother
Mahinda’s decade in power.
Gotabhaya was defence secretary during his brother’s rule, when troops
were accused of killing up to 40,000 Tamil civilians while crushing the Tamil
Tigers.
A later government co-sponsored a US-led resolution to appoint an
independent panel to look into the actions of both sides in the final stages
of Sri Lanka’s bloody separatist conflict, although it was never formed.
But on Tuesday the 70-year-old Gotabhaya said he would not honour the
commitments made to the UN Human Rights Council, saying people needed to
“move on”
In response to questions by AFP about Sri Lanka’s wartime human rights
record, he said: “Why are you talking all the time on the past. Ask (about)
the future.
“I am trying to become the president of the future Sri Lanka. So if you
concentrate on the future, it is better.”
He said even the Tamils were more interested in jobs, education and
infrastructure than raking over the past.
The Rajapakses insist no civilians were killed by government forces in the
latter stages of the war, and accuse the rebels of using tens of thousands of
civilians as human shields.
At least 100,000 people were killed in the conflict between 1972 and 2009.
Mahinda Rajapakse’s administration was on the verge of international
sanctions because of its refusal to investigate the alleged war crimes when
he was defeated at the January 2015 elections.
Gotabhaya Rajapakse was addressing the press Tuesday for the first time
since launching his bid to become president in an election scheduled for
November 16.
The presidential poll has attracted a record 35 candidates, with nearly 16
million people eligible to vote.
BSS/AFP/SSS/2010 hrs