Sri Lanka spurn UN panel

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said Sri Lanka has flatly rejected the panel of experts that is being formed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to advise him on the accountability issues related to the Security Forces' battle against terrorism.

The Minister ruled out any possibility of Sri Lanka cooperating with such a panel if formed, as the government has outright rejected it.

He said the UN should have given more time for the government following the end of the war in May last year. He said the government had only nine months to resolve the post-war issues.Minister Bogollagama said that the UN was trying to appoint a panel of experts to look into Sri Lanka when it took nine years for the organisation to appoint a committee to probe UK's conduct during the Iraq war.

He added that the government hoped the UN would act with mutual respect in relation to Sri Lanka. However, the UN chief has stated that the panel of experts would be appointed without any delay and is currently in the process of selecting members for the panel.