War crime tweet: Govt. won’t summon US envoy
The Government has backed down from a move to summon US Ambassador Michele Sisson to the External Affairs Ministry to protest over a US embassy tweet which read that “Army shelling killed hundreds of families”.
External Affairs ministry Secretary Karunathilleke Amunugama told the Sunday Times there was no move to summon Ambassador Sisson but the Government had sought clarification on the issue.
Earlier, government sources said, External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris would summon Ms. Sisson to express the Government’s displeasure over the tweet on the US embassy’s official portal.
The tweet carried a photograph of Ambassador Sisson and Stephan J. Rapp, US Ambassador at-Large for War Crimes, at St. Anthony’s ground near Putumatalan. Miniser Wimal Weerawansa, who is known to voice the views of the UPFA leaders at the highest levels, told a meeting that the US message had already pre-judged Sri Lanka’s case, even before the United Nations Human Rights Council conducted a probe.
The US embassy has maintained that the tweet in question will not be withdrawn.
In an email interview with the Sun- day Times, US embassy Spokesperson Juliana A. Spaven said Ambassador Sisson toured a number of sites where battles took place in the final months of the conflict in 2009. These included the sites where there were accusations of major violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses. Mr. Rapp and Ms. Sisson met many survivors.
The spokesperson did not make any direct reference to the offending photo caption in the tweet.
The spokesperson said: “The LTTE is still proscribed as a terrorist organisation and the US continues to prosecute its members (as witnessed by cases last year in US courts). Ambassa- dor Sisson and Ambassador Rapp have been engaging with a variety of sources to gain a better understanding of the situation in Sri Lanka, particularly in the former conflict zone.
“The shellings and killings of civilians are among the reports we heard and that is why credible, independent investigations must take place.
“The US stands ready to support. The US Embassy in Colombo in 2013 provided a US$1.18 million donation of a forensics laboratory to the Sri Lankan Government and would be pleased to provide additional technical assistance to ensure that credible, independent and verifiable investigations take place.”