Sri Lanka's former army commander denies accusing military of war crimes

Sri Lanka's former army commander denies accusing military of war crimes

2011-05-13 01:58:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BNO NEWS) -- Sri Lanka's former Army Commander on Thursday said that his comments to a weekly national newspaper on the final stages of the war had been distorted, the Colombo Page reported.

Sarath Fonseka is being accused of bringing the government troops into disrepute and fostering ethnic tensions after saying to a newspaper that the Defense Secretary had ordered the shooting of senior Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leaders who were trying to surrender with white flags during the final stages of the country's civil war.

Fonseka said during the controversial "White Flag" case today that his statement to The Sunday Leader newspaper had been distorted. He said that his intention was not to discredit the army, which he had served for 40 years.

His comments come after the United Nations published a report on war crimes that were reportedly committed during the later stages of Sri Lanka's war against Tamil Tiger rebels. The report says a UN panel found credible allegations of serious war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government, including killing of civilians through widespread shelling and the denial of humanitarian assistance.

According to UN data, thousands of people died during the conflict which expanded over three decades. Furthermore, the fighting ended with large numbers of internally displaced persons, especially in the country's northern region.

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