New evidences of war crimes

The campaign for a war-crimes tribunal to investigate alleged atrocities in the Sri Lankan civil war has intensified following the release of photographs that appeared to show a massacre of Tamils. The pictures - of the blood-stained bodies of young men and women who had been blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs - were released by the Global Tamil Forum, a group that includes former supporters of the Tamil Tiger rebels. Their release was timed to coincide with the visit to Britain of Prof GL Peiris, the Sri Lankan foreign minister, who will meet William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, on Wednesday. A Foreign Office spokesman said Mr Hague would reiterate Britain's demand for a "transparent investigation" into alleged war crimes. The United Nations estimates that between 8,000 and 10,000 civilians were killed between January and May, 2009, and claims that the Sri Lankan army shelled a civilian "no-fire zone". The forum said it had been given the latest photographs by a Tamil Tigers intelligence official who said he had acquired them from within the Sri Lankan army. A group spokesman said the pictures had not been verified but they raised serious questions that only an independent investigation could address. He said some of the photographs of Sri Lankan army officers inspecting rows of bodies suggested the pictures may have been taken as "souvenirs". One showed a semi-naked young woman lying, apparently dead, with blood trickling from her nose. She is surrounded by the bodies of young men, some naked, and all blindfolded and bound.