Rights group wants S.Lanka to punish ex-Tiger boss
By Ranga Sirilal
COLOMBO, July 4 (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday urged Sri Lanka's government to investigate and prosecute renegade former Tamil Tiger leader Karuna Amman for war crimes, after Britain failed to do so because of a lack of evidence.
Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, also known as Colonel Karuna, returned to the Indian Ocean island nation on Thursday after serving a six-month jail term in Britain for immigration offences.
Human rights groups had hoped he would face additional war crimes charges but British authorities released him in May, saying there was not enough evidence to convict him of other offences.
The former eastern commander and second-in-command of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been accused by rights groups of torture, abductions, killings and child soldier recruitment both before and after splitting from the mainstream rebels in 2004.
UNICEF has accused his group of kidnapping children, including from camps of survivors from the 2004 tsunami, as troops stood by.
"Now that Karuna is back in Colombo, the spotlight is on the Sri Lanka government to do the right thing or be deemed complicit in his crimes," Brad Adams, HRW's Asia director said in an emailed statement.
"Karuna's escape from justice in the UK is a failure for international justice. The British government had an alleged war criminal in custody for six months and couldn't manage to file charges."
Government officials were not immediately available for comment. Police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera told Reuters he had not been informed of Karuna's arrival.
New York-based HRW has said Tamil Tiger forces under Karuna's command were directly involved in some of the worst crimes of the Sri Lankan civil war, which has killed more than 70,000 people.
The LTTE have been waging a protracted civil for an independent state in the north and east since 1983.
After breaking away from the LTTE, Karuna mounted hit-and-run attacks on his former comrades, founding a new faction known as the TMVP that was widely seen as government backed.
EXECUTED CIVILIANS
"In June 1990, some 400 to 600 police officers who surrendered to the LTTE were bound, gagged, and beaten. The Tamil Tigers, including forces under Karuna's control, then executed the Sinhalese and Muslims among them," HRW said.
It added: "In July 1990, Karuna's forces stopped a convoy of Muslims travelling in Batticaloa district and executed about 75 people, including women and children. In August 1990, Karuna's forces killed more than 200 civilians in two incidents in Batticaloa district."
The government in June said it had begun investigations into the killing of the more than 400 police officers in east of the island.
Karuna was ousted from the leadership of the TMVP last year, prompting his flight from Sri Lanka.
The group went on to win local elections in a coalition with President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling party in the island's east this year. (Editing by Ben Tan)
COLOMBO, July 4 (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday urged Sri Lanka's government to investigate and prosecute renegade former Tamil Tiger leader Karuna Amman for war crimes, after Britain failed to do so because of a lack of evidence.
Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, also known as Colonel Karuna, returned to the Indian Ocean island nation on Thursday after serving a six-month jail term in Britain for immigration offences.
Human rights groups had hoped he would face additional war crimes charges but British authorities released him in May, saying there was not enough evidence to convict him of other offences.
The former eastern commander and second-in-command of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been accused by rights groups of torture, abductions, killings and child soldier recruitment both before and after splitting from the mainstream rebels in 2004.
UNICEF has accused his group of kidnapping children, including from camps of survivors from the 2004 tsunami, as troops stood by.
"Now that Karuna is back in Colombo, the spotlight is on the Sri Lanka government to do the right thing or be deemed complicit in his crimes," Brad Adams, HRW's Asia director said in an emailed statement.
"Karuna's escape from justice in the UK is a failure for international justice. The British government had an alleged war criminal in custody for six months and couldn't manage to file charges."
Government officials were not immediately available for comment. Police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera told Reuters he had not been informed of Karuna's arrival.
New York-based HRW has said Tamil Tiger forces under Karuna's command were directly involved in some of the worst crimes of the Sri Lankan civil war, which has killed more than 70,000 people.
The LTTE have been waging a protracted civil for an independent state in the north and east since 1983.
After breaking away from the LTTE, Karuna mounted hit-and-run attacks on his former comrades, founding a new faction known as the TMVP that was widely seen as government backed.
EXECUTED CIVILIANS
"In June 1990, some 400 to 600 police officers who surrendered to the LTTE were bound, gagged, and beaten. The Tamil Tigers, including forces under Karuna's control, then executed the Sinhalese and Muslims among them," HRW said.
It added: "In July 1990, Karuna's forces stopped a convoy of Muslims travelling in Batticaloa district and executed about 75 people, including women and children. In August 1990, Karuna's forces killed more than 200 civilians in two incidents in Batticaloa district."
The government in June said it had begun investigations into the killing of the more than 400 police officers in east of the island.
Karuna was ousted from the leadership of the TMVP last year, prompting his flight from Sri Lanka.
The group went on to win local elections in a coalition with President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling party in the island's east this year. (Editing by Ben Tan)
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