Tuesday, 18 October 2011
War-torn island's former navy chief is named by witnesses in documents filed in Perth
WEBGRAB
Footage of alleged war crimes committed during the civil war in Sri Lanka
ENLARGEPolice in Australia are examining a so-called "war crimes" dossier of information that claims to confirm Sri Lankan forces bombed and shelled civilians during the country's civil war.
And activists have called on the Australian authorities to make use of laws that allow the police to charge people with war crimes for offences committed outside of the country.
Just days ahead of a meeting in Perth of heads of Commonwealth nations, activists claim information gathered from witnesses now living in Australia provides sufficient evidence for the authorities to act against those responsible for what took place two years ago.
Local media has claimed Sri Lanka's former naval chief, Thisara Samarasinghe, who is currently Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Australia, is named in the dossier. He has denied any wrongdoing either by him or his forces.
"Those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009 must not be allowed to go unpunished," said John Dowd, president of the International Commission of Jurists, Australia (ICJA).
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