Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 7835982" data-attributes="member: 92282">The United States on Tuesday stood behind UN chief Ban Ki-moon and  his advisory panel on war crimes allegations in Sri Lanka, where  protesters including a cabinet minister surrounded the UN office.State  Department spokesman Mark Toner said that the United States supported  "people's right to free expression" but also sought a "robust  accountability process" to help the island reconcile after decades of  war."To that end, we welcome UN Secretary (General) Ban's  announcement of a panel of experts to provide advice on relevant best  practices for investigations into alleged violations of international  human rights and humanitarian law," Toner said.Protesters, who  included Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, shouted anti-UN slogans  outside the UN office in Colombo, preventing staff from leaving for  seven hours, according to witnesses.Ban last month named a UN  panel, headed by Marzuki Darusman, a former Indonesian attorney general,  to advise on "accountability issues" during the war between government  forces and the Tamil Tiger separatists.The Sri Lankan government  has refused to cooperate with the panel, which some see as a precursor  to a full-blown war crimes investigation.The Tiger guerrillas  were defeated after decades of conflict in May 2009, and the UN has said  that at least 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed in the first  four months of last year.The United States and other Western  nations criticized Sri Lanka over its rights record in the final stages  of the conflict. But Washington's relations with the island have since  improved.<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ix_zZdLs82P9W8l0684HovaKf5Rg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.google.com/hostednews/img/afp_logo.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></blockquote>

Verification: Haya warak paha keeyada? (haya wadi kireema paha)

Top Bottom