S.Lanka seek to stop US quzzing general over war
(AFP) 10 hours ago

COLOMBO Sri Lanka has called on US authorities to drop plans to interview the island`s military commander over allegations of war crimes against ethnic Tamil rebels, an official said Sunday.

The Colombo government held `very high-level` talks to prevent General Sarath Fonseka, currently visiting Oklahoma, from being quizzed over his conduct during the conflict against the Tamil Tigers, the official said.

The privately-run Sunday Times newspaper here said Fonseka had been asked to present himself for an interview with the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.

The move `prompted fears in Colombo that Washington is asserting its legal authority over the `war crimes` report` released last month, the paper said referring to a State Department dossier on alleged war crimes.

The report outlined excesses by security forces and Tiger rebels during the final stages of fighting earlier this year. The report, submitted to the US Congress, refers to Fonseka`s having overstepped his brief.

The Sunday Times said the Sri Lankan diplomatic mission there was already providing legal assistance to Fonseka.

Fonseka is a US Green Card holder and travelled to the US last week to visit his two daughters. He also addressed a group of Sri Lankans in Washington last week and took credit for leading the battle to crush the Tigers.

The US embassy in Colombo declined comment.

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Zeenews:

Colombo: Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka, who presided over the military offensive on the LTTE, has been asked by US authorities to testify before them against Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa over allegations of widespread human rights abuse during the war.

The Chief of Defence Staff has told the government that he has been asked to give evidence against Gotabhaya, brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a media report said Sunday.

The US Department of State had recently submitted to the Congress a report on the incidents during the recent conflict, prepared by its war crimes office.


`Fonseka has written to Sri Lankan Mission in Washington saying he has been asked by US officials to give evidence against Gotabhaya over alleged human rights abuses,` the Daily Mirror online said quoting a highly placed diplomatic source.

Home South Asia
US officials to interview SL Army Chief on war crimes issue: Report
Updated on Sunday, November 01, 2009, 18:30 IST Tags:Sri Lanka, Army Chief, War crimes
Colombo: Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka, who presided over the military offensive on the LTTE, has been asked by US authorities to testify before them against Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa over allegations of widespread human rights abuse during the war.

The Chief of Defence Staff has told the government
that he has been asked to give evidence against Gotabhaya, brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a media report said Sunday.

The US Department of State had recently submitted to the Congress a report on the incidents during the recent conflict, prepared by its war crimes office.


`Fonseka has written to Sri Lankan Mission in Washington saying he has been asked by US officials to give evidence against Gotabhaya over alleged human rights abuses,` the Daily Mirror online said quoting a highly placed diplomatic source.

It said Fonseka, currently in the US in connection with renewal of his Green Card, was reportedly contacted by two US officials on his son-in-law`s telephone, `prompting fears in Colombo that Washington is asserting its legal authority over the war crimes report released last week`.

Official sources here said that `this matter is being discussed at a higher level. We have no comments at this point of time`.

The Sunday Times, meanwhile, reported that Fonseka has been told to face a `voluntary meeting` with the Department of Homeland Security and that officials want to interview him on Wednesday.

`Reports reaching the highest levels of the government say US Department of Homeland Security officials want to interview him on Wednesday (November 4) in Tulsa, Oklahoma,` The Sunday Times said.

Gen Fonseka, who is a US Green Card holder, has a residence in Oklahoma.

`He had already sought legal advice from Fred Fielding, a former White House Counsel to late Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and former president George W Bush.

`His lawyer had advised that the CDS should face the meeting and answer all questions truthfully,` the paper said.

Sri Lanka`s Ambassador also mobilised lawyers from Patton Boggs, the law firm hired by the mission for lobbying and promotional work, to fly to Tulsa, the paper said quoting highly-placed government sources in Colombo.

`Gen Fonseka has agreed to drop lawyer Fielding from representing him and to retain the services of Patton Boggs,` the newspaper said.