Colombo Dismisses War Crime Panel

The foreign ministry on June 23 criticised United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his decision to appoint a panel to advise him on whether war crimes were committed during the Sri Lankan government's final offensive against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In its statement, the foreign ministry argued that it regarded the panel was 'an unwarranted and unnecessary interference with a sovereign nation', pointing to the domestic commission it had appointed to investigate possible human rights violations. We expect issues surrounding the Tamil minority to complicate Colombo's relations with Western capitals for the foreseeable future.

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