US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges

The United States urged Sri Lanka to move quickly to address allegations ofwar crimes, warning of rising pressure for international action if it does not.

 

The State Department stopped short of endorsing calls for an internationalinvestigation into the bloody finale of the island�s civil war in 2009, sayingthat domestic authorities have primary responsibility to ensure accountability.

 

�We continue to urge the government of Sri Lanka to quickly demonstrate thatit is able and willing to meet these obligations as it seeks reconciliation,� aState Department statement said.

 

�We hope the Sri Lankans will themselves do this, but if they do not, therewill be growing pressure from the international community to examine otheroptions,� it said.

 

Pressure has mounted on Sri Lanka since Britain�s Channel 4 broadcast adocumentary that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies offemale Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted, AFPreports.

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges[ Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 02:52.26 AM GMT +05:30 ]The United States on Tuesday urged Sri Lanka to move quickly to address allegations of war crimes, warning of rising pressure for international action if it does not.

The State Department stopped short of endorsing calls for an international investigation into the bloody finale of the island's civil war in 2009, saying that domestic authorities have primary responsibility to ensure accountability.

"We continue to urge the government of Sri Lanka to quickly demonstrate that it is able and willing to meet these obligations as it seeks reconciliation," a State Department statement said.

"We hope the Sri Lankans will themselves do this, but if they do not, there will be growing pressure from the international community to examine other options," it said.

Pressure has mounted on Sri Lanka since Britain's Channel 4 broadcast a documentary that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies of female Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted.

The United Nations has said that up to 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the fighting and a recent UN report accused government forces of executing rebel leaders who were said to have worked out a surrender.

An estimated 100,000 people were killed in the nearly four-decade-long Tamil separatist conflict, which began in 1972.

Sri Lanka's government has questioned the authenticity of the Channel 4 footage but said that a local panel, known as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, would take action if the allegations are proven.

The documentary also pointed to abuses by the Tamil Tigers, who were known for suicide bombings during their decades-long insurgency. Sri Lankan officials said the Tigers kept civilians as human shields during the final offensive.

With urging from the Tamil diaspora, a number of US lawmakers have called for the State Department to exert greater pressure on Sri Lanka.
In Britain, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt recently warned that the international community would revisit "all options available" to press Colombo over its rights record.

<<

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges

Sri Lanka News-Adaderana-Truth First - US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges    June 29, 2011  10:09:AM --> Home Archives Feedback Contact Us --> Print this -->

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges June 29, 2011  07:14 am

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

The United States urged Sri Lanka to move quickly to address allegations ofwar crimes, warning of rising pressure for international action if it does not.

 

The State Department stopped short of endorsing calls for an internationalinvestigation into the bloody finale of the island�s civil war in 2009, sayingthat domestic authorities have primary responsibility to ensure accountability.

 

�We continue to urge the government of Sri Lanka to quickly demonstrate thatit is able and willing to meet these obligations as it seeks reconciliation,� aState Department statement said.

 

�We hope the Sri Lankans will themselves do this, but if they do not, therewill be growing pressure from the international community to examine otheroptions,� it said.

 

Pressure has mounted on Sri Lanka since Britain�s Channel 4 broadcast adocumentary that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies offemale Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted, AFPreports.

Outgoing call charges slashed

Sri Lanka News-Adaderana-Truth First - Outgoing call charges slashed    June 28, 2011  03:39:PM --> Home Archives Feedback Contact Us --> Print this -->

Outgoing call charges slashed June 27, 2011  03:57 pm

Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) has decided to reduce from Rs 2 to Rs 1.50 the minimum floor rate for an outgoing call per minute from one network to another in line with the budget proposal.


The new minimum rate will be effective from the first week of July, the TRC said today (June 27).

Viewer Comments
*All fields are mandatory

Name

Email Address

*Your email address will not be published and used only for contacting purposes

Comment

 

This is a Public Forum. Please use this forum responsibly to express your views and opinions. Comments that use foul and abusive language will be edited/deleted. Comments containing slander, vulgarism and derogatory statement will be deleted. Reader comments posted are the opinion of the comment writer, not Ada Derana. Help us protect the freedom of expression.

a.vote_up, a.vote_down {display:inline-block;background-repeat:none;background-position:center;height:16px;width:16px;margin-left:4px;text-indent:-900%;}a.vote_up {background:url("js/reddit_vote_tut/src/images/thumb_up.png");}a.vote_down {background:url("js/reddit_vote_tut/src/images/thumb_down.png");} June 27, 2011 04:10 pm

What about per second billing floor rate of Rs.2.50?

Sehna

+0 -0

Reply

June 27, 2011 04:23 pm

"minimum" floor rate of "maximum" floor rate??

Confused

+1 -0

Reply

June 27, 2011 04:51 pm

bad move from industry point of view. All telecom operators struggeling to improve their infrastructure and improve quality of the services. But no income for them. We have launched 4G technology but we have not used even 1% of 3G capabilities in this country. Even in main cities singnal levels are low, bandwidths are not sufficient. But.. hell yeh.. we have 4G.

Citizen

+4 -7

Reply

June 27, 2011 04:56 pm

Very good move! Mobile is the future.

ag

+6 -1

Reply

June 27, 2011 06:18 pm

JVP will march protest for the decrease as well now.

janaka

+2 -2

Reply

June 27, 2011 09:27 pm

I think this is only applicable to mobile networks. What about the land lines?. Is there any reduction for land lies. SLT has much higher prices than mobile networks. It looks like TRC has forgotten them.

Gihan

+3 -0

Reply

June 27, 2011 11:07 pm

Jayawewa!

gayan

+2 -0

Reply

June 28, 2011 07:37 am

Agree with Citizen. Also mobile rates should be higher than fixed call rates. Otherwise fixed operators will defiantly collapse. Not good for industry. Do not expect quality telecommunication service in future, telcos don´´t have money to invest for quality.

Ruksha

+2 -1

Reply

June 28, 2011 08:17 am

No bonus for us !

MoDiEtAi

+0 -0

Reply

June 28, 2011 08:32 am

Lankaawe Hamadeema wadiweddi, aduwana ekema dee.......

yasas

+1 -0

Reply

June 28, 2011 09:00 am

But unfortunately this floor rate does not apply to post-paid packages. It´s only for pre-paid.Isn´t it unfair?

Lankan

+1 -0

Reply

June 28, 2011 09:08 am

Great For the customer but very bad for the Industry. With All other cost increasing such as power, Fuel, Interest rates etc.. networks will reduce investment on expantion.. Politcs Again at play..

asanka

+2 -1

Reply

Share this article with a friend

Provide your friends' Email address (Multiple email addresses can be separated with a comma and
should not contain any in between spaces.)

Recepient(s) Your Name  > President to support political solution decided by Parliament > Cabinet to decide on new IGP tomorrow > All blocks of Yala National Park to be opened > Family members sentenced to death > VIDEO: Teachers will not come forward for A/L paper-marking > Rizana �poised to be executed� is �reconditioned� news, says Dilan > President to support political solution decided by Parliament >  > Lanka making significant efforts to eliminate human trafficking - US report > Cabinet to decide on new IGP tomorrow Copyright © 2010/2011 Ada Derana. All rights reserved.