Kamalesh Sharma Sidesteps Lankan War-Crimes Investigation Issue Again

November 7, 2013 

Two days after he told the BBC that he did not believe that an international investigation into massive human 

rights abuses during the war in Sri Lanka would not be “practical” Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma told Channel 4 in an interview tonight that the probe was a matter for the United Nations.

Kamalesh Sharma

Sharma insisted that the Commonwealth has been making progress to address human rights issues for the people of Sri Lanka, including addressing torture and reconciliation of the two sides in Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war.

But addressing whether or not the military committed grave human rights atrocities in the closing stages of the war, including allegations over the killing of civilians and summary executions, was a matter for the United Nations, Sharma told Channel 4′s Jonathan Snow.

“In the time to come, I trust that people will see… that indeed very significant advances have been made in the interests of the people of Sri Lanka,” Sharma, who is often optimistic about Sri Lanka said in the interview.

BBC;

Channel 4;