SL must co-operate with int’l probe-SF

22 May 2012 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka must co-operate with any international investigation into alleged war crimes, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka has told the BBC, a day after his release from jail.

He said some Sri Lankan leaders were ‘hiding their faces’ over the conduct of the war, as if they were guilty.

But Mr. Fonseka, who led the army to its 2009 victory over Tamil rebels, denied thousands of civilians were killed.

In a BBC interview, his first on a one-to-one basis since being freed on Monday, Mr. Fonseka said that the attitude of some Sri Lankan leaders gave the world the impression that they were guilty of something.

But Mr. Fonseka said that he - and not the country's political leaders - was in charge at the end of the war and that he would not be "scared to come before anybody" asking questions about the end of the war.

He rejected accusations that thousands of civilians were killed in the closing phase of the army's offensive.

The former army chief said he wanted to be involved in politics to change what he called Sri Lanka's ‘corrupt political culture’ - even if he didn't get to serve as president or be re-elected to parliament.

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SL must co-operate with int’l probe-SF

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