Colombo : Sri Lanka would soon set up a special war crimes court to probe human rights allegations during the final phase of the brutal civil war with the LTTE, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga said here.
Kumaratunga who now heads the office of National Unity and Reconciliation which aims to achieve meaningful reconciliation with the Tamil minority said that the government would set up a special court to probe war crimes allegations. “Enormous amount of work has been done and this special court should start by the end of this month or early January,” Kumaratunga said. “They (the court) will not be chasing behind every soldier, but the main line of command will be looked at,” she said adding that surviving Tamil militants would also be hauled up to answer allegations of “horrendous crimes”.
Her comments came in the wake of the report issued by the UN human rights chief last September which called for a hybrid court to try war crimes perpetrators from both government troops and the LTTE.
The UN Human Rights Council resolution adopted in October had also called for a court with foreign judges and prosecutors to probe the war crimes allegations.
