London: British Prime Minister David Cameron today demanded a “transparent, credible and independent” probe into the alleged massacre of Sri Lankan Tamils, days after he pressed President Mahinda Rajapaska for an enquiry into rights violations during the final days of the civil war in 2009.
During the CHOGM summit in Colombo this month, he had said that if the Sri Lankan government fails to launch an independent enquiry by March 2014, UK will call for an international enquiry through the United Nations.
In a column for ‘Asian Lite' newspaper from London, the prime minister said: “First of all, there should be a transparent, credible investigation into alleged war crimes. No one wants to go back to the days of the Tamil Tigers, a brutal terrorist organisation.
“But equally, the Sri Lankan government cannot look the other want. When I met President Rajapaska I pressed for an investigation to take place - and I made clear that if those investigations were not begun properly by next March, we would call for an international enquiry through the United Nations.
He also demanded genuine progress on human rights on all the fronts, including genuine freedom of expression and a free media, an end to the intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders and action to stamp out torture.
