Sri Lanka rejects call for international judges on tribunal News
Sri Lanka rejects call for international judges on tribunal

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena [official website] on Sunday rebuffed [press release, in Sinhala] calls for international judges to participate in the country’s war crimes tribunals. The president, who has been suspicious of war crimes allegations raised by the Tamil Tigers [Al Jazeera backgrounder], has stated that any war crimes tribunal will be an internal process to bring peace to the country. He said he would not subject his soldiers to international judges who would dishonor them and and their courage. Instead, he argued the army is not yet ready to bring any indictments as the focus is on better training and engagement to bring about peace. He argued international judges would bring about disruption to the nation and suggested any calls for international oversight are politically motivated.

A Sri Lankan panel of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms recommended [JURIST report] in January the appointment of a hybrid court composed of local and international judges to oversee the adjudication of allegations of war crimes committed during the nation’s civil war. The Sri Lankan Foreign Minster said in February that the country would petition [JURIST report] the UN for more time to investigate the allegations of war crimes occurring during the country’s 26-year-long civil war. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported [JURIST report] last week that Sri Lanka has made slow progress towards establishing transitional justice.

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