NewsSri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has rejected a fresh appeal from the United Nations to allow international judges to investigate alleged war-era atrocities, vowing to not prosecute soldiers. I will not listen to their calls to prosecute my troops," the president said in remarks distributed by his office Sunday. The UN on Friday criticised Sri Lanka's "worryingly slow" progress in addressing its wartime past, urging the government to adopt laws allowing for special hybrid courts to try war criminals. In his first remarks since the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva handed down a new scorecard on Sri Lanka, Sirisena rebuffed calls for international judges to probe abuses committed during the island's 37-year civil war. Sirisena's response marks a sharp shift in his policy towards accountability and reconciliation, which had earned him the praise of international observers.

Source: Sunday Times March 06, 2017 06:37 UTC