ICG takes Sri Lanka to task?

by a special correspondent

The International Crisis Group (ICG) will publish a report calling for an international inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.

They have sought information from Sarath Fonseka, the former Commander of the Army but none of the allegations framed by the ICG curiously touches Fonseka except to state that he was informed but they have named and charged the present Commander Jagath Jayasuriya with specific allegations.

Legal circles have expressed understanding as to why the ICG makes no allegations against Commander Fonseka, Head of the Army at the time of the battle but instead targets the present Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya, the Wanni Commander during the conflict, in the allegation sheet.

The possible explanation according to lawyers is that they propose to rely on Fonseka’s testimony/material to charge the present Commander.

A Colombo lawyer said that the ICG appears to be playing war games in throwing darts at the present Commander, wistfully contemplating that Fonseka will come to their assistance as information is sought from him. The co-chair of the ICG is Lord Chris Patton where the Island newspaper (May 5, 2010) had asserted that the UN should have intervened under the R2P doctrine during the conflict to save civilians.

The President/Chief Executive Officer is Louise Arbour and the President Emeritus is former Australian Minister Gareth Evans.

The triumvirate of the ICG is ‘famed’ for their frequent hostile observations on Sri Lanka, giving rise to suspicion on the bonafides of the ICG and the credibility of the report.

The ICG has pronounced that they have “collected evidence that provides reasonable grounds to believe that senior government and military officials may be held criminally responsible for these actions”.

Those privy to the allegations said that they relate to shelling hospitals, firing at UN supplies, attacking civilians and shooting into the No Fire Zone.

A legal luminary from Hultsdorf said that the credibility of the ICG report is at stake as ICG personnel have made hostile expressions on Sri Lanka’s conduct of the conflict and the public perception is that their report will be unfairly hostile and cannot be relied upon.

To gain credibility for itself, ICG may possibly fault the extinct LTTE too, for the sake of a balancing act, knowing well in the absence of personnel or an organisation, no action can be taken against the LTTE.