Top military officers to be held accountable

Top military officers will be held accountable in the domestic process when investigating incidents related to the war.

Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga said that the accountability process will begin either this month or next month with the establishment of a Special Court.

She said that low ranked soldiers will not be chased after in the war crimes probe but the main line of command will be held responsible.

The former President said that even former senior LTTE members, including Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, will also be held accountable if there is evidence to prove allegations against them.

Kumaratunga also said the Government will accept foreign technical assistance in the domestic process but not have foreign judges.

Speaking at a media briefing organised by the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR),?Kumaratunga said that Sri Lanka now has a golden opportunity to achieve reconciliation.

Kumaratunga said that ONUR, which is headed by her, is forming a National policy on reconciliation and hopes it will become Government policy.

She?said that a political solution will also be looked at and the 13th Amendment to the constitution will be used as the base for the final solution.

Kumaratunga also said that the?proposed constitutional reforms in the year 2000 when she was President, the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) report, Panel of Experts (PoE) report of the UN and the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Reports (LLRC) report will also be looked into when finalizing the political solution.

The former President noted that the final solution must be acceptable to all communities and the process will involve political parties and groups representing all communities.?(Colombo Gazette)