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Lawyers seek arrest of war criminal
Lawyers working for Tamil
activists are attempting to obtain a war crimes
arrest warrant against Sri Lanka's president and
senior member of his entourage who have arrived
in Britain. Mahinda Rajapaksa, whose government
defeated the separatist Tamil Tigers last year
amid humanitarian protests about the treatment
of civilians trapped in the war zone, is due to
speak at the Oxford Union on Thursday. The visit
comes as Tamil supporters claim to have acquired
a video showing a former Tamil Tiger colonel
being interrogated by Sri Lankan forces. His
family allege he was killed after surrendering.
Rajapaksa is also expected to meet the defense
secretary, Liam Fox. Last year the UK revoked a
number of arms exports licences to Sri Lanka in
response to the conflict. The Sri Lankan head of
state's visit, postponed from last month, is
likely to trigger mass protests. Tamil
demonstrators were at Heathrow airport for his
arrival on Monday evening; more are expected in
Oxford later this week. Last year thousands of
Tamils blockaded Parliament Square in
Westminster for several weeks to draw attention
to the fighting in Sri Lanka. The freezing
weather may reduce the numbers involved this
time. There are estimated to be as many as
300,000 people of Tamil descent in the UK. Sen
Kandiah, founder of the British Tamil Forum, an
umbrella group representing Tamils in the UK,
told the Guardian: "We have been working on an
arrest warrant for some time. We have instructed
a prominent legal firm and have spoken to former
lord chancellors. "We know that at least 40,000
civilians were killed at the end of the war.
This man was the commander in chief and he's
coming to speak to the Oxford Union. He should
face a proper trial." Another Tamil activist,
Suren Surendiran, said that if Rajapaksa had
immunity as head of state then arrest warrants
would be sought against military members of his
entourage. Graham Williamson of the civil rights
group Act Now has called for a boycott campaign
of Sri Lankan goods.
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The UK accepts universal
jurisdiction for war crimes offences, meaning
that those accused of atrocities can be arrested
in Britain wherever the offence was allegedly
committed. But the justice secretary, Ken
Clarke, announced in the summer that the
legislation would be amended so that any
prosecutions would require the assent of the
director of public prosecutions. That would
effectively stop the private actions brought
against visiting foreign officials that have
deterred visits by Israeli officials. A similar
tactic was used when Margaret Thatcher was prime
minister against the former Chilean president,
General Augusto Pinochet. He was arrested and
held under house arrest on charges of crimes
against humanity, before being released on
health grounds without being charged. Last month
David Cameron endorsed calls for an independent
investigation into the end of the Sri Lankan
civil war in 2009. He told the Commons:
"Everyone has read the papers and seen the TV
footage, but we need an independent
investigation" to work out whether there had
been human rights abuses. A spokesman for the
public relations firm Bell Pottinger, which
represents Rajapaksa, denied that he had
cancelled his trip to the UK last month becuse
of fears that he might face an arrest warrant.
"He had to give a keynote speech at the UN," the
spokesman said, "and visit Shanghai. He had a
busy international schedule. He's here now to
speak to the Oxford Union." Rajapaksa last spoke
at the Oxford Union in 2008. His second visit
tomorrow, according to his spokesperson, will
mean that he is the first serving head of state
to address the union twice. The UN secretary
general, Ban Ki-moon, has established a
three-man committee to investigate ways of
dealing with the war crime allegations. A
spokesman for Fox said: "Dr Fox will be meeting
President Rajapaksa in a private capacity. This
reflects Dr Fox's longstanding interest in Sri
Lanka and his interest in, and commitment to
peace and reconciliation there."
Courtesy: Guardian
