TNA rejects domestic inquiry

by P. Krishnaswamy

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will neither support nor accept a domestic inquiry on war crimes because such an inquiry is doomed to fail, in the backdrop of historical failures of local inquiries on such matters, Spokesman of the TNA, Suresh Premachandran, said yesterday.

Responding to queries on the US’ recently announced ‘change of stance’ over an inquiry into alleged war crimes during the final phase of the war, he said the report of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is yet to be published and it would be inappropriate to comment before its release.

The Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) put off the publication of the report previously scheduled for last March until September, following a request made by the new Maithripala Sirisena Government consequent to the January 8 presidential polls.

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Biswal, announced in Colombo Wednesday (26) that Washington will sponsor a resolution in UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions next month supporting a Sri Lankan government inquiry into alleged war crimes. International political observers considered it as a major shift by the US, which last year sponsored a resolution calling for an international investigation into alleged war crimes by the government under the previous regime.