Sri Lanka wants US to reconsider push for war crimes probe

The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday urged the United States to reconsider its position on Sri Lanka and back efforts towards achieving reconciliation in the country. Sri Lanka's Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem said that instead of further polarizing the country, the international community, including the United States, must look at alternate mechanisms like encouraging a Truth Commission in order to see reconciliation being achieved in Sri Lanka. Hakeem said that the U.S. government had a preconceived notion on Sri Lanka and this was clear even during the recent visit of U. S. Ambassador-at-Large at the Office of Global Criminal Justice Stephen J. Rapp. The minister said that digging for evidence to back war crimes charged on Sri Lanka will only aggravate the division among communities and not help reconciliation. The United States on Sunday urged the government of Sri Lanka to seek the truth over alleged human rights abuses through independent and credible investigations. The U.S. embassy in Colombo said that the Rapp, during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, not only heard about the progress made since the conflict, but also the Sri Lankan people's continuing desire for reconciliation, justice and accountability. The United States had said it remains committed to working with the Sri Lankan government to promote greater peace and prosperity for all people of the South Asian country, and it is vital that all sides come to an agreement on events, have appropriate redress, and move forward as a unified country that upholds the rule of law and respects the principles of democratic governance.