Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. House of Representatives in a communication sent to President Obama said that the United States has to take concrete actions to to hold the Sri Lankan state accountable for its actions for rebuffing the international community, and urged the President to instruct the Department of Justice to look into the possible linkage of Sri Lanka officials to crimes committed during the prosecution of the war. The note mentioned Gotabaya Rajapakse, Basil Rajapakse, and Sarath Fonseka as possible perpetrators of war crimes.
"All credible efforts by members of the international community, including those by the United States through our outstanding Ambassador to Sri Lanka, RObert Blake, and those of Britain, France, Norway and the European Union, were either rebuffed or went mostly ignored by the Sri Lankan Government, which has made a determination that it will resolve the issue militarily.
"It has become increasingly obvious that the Sri Lankan government believes that there will be no political price to pay for its impunity. We believe this must change and that there are concrete measures that United States can take right now to hold the Sri Lankan state accountable for its actions, now and in the future," the communication said.
"[W]e call on you to instruct our Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, to immediately call for an emergency session of the Security Council to discuss the ongoing situation in Sri Lanka," the letter added.
"We ask you to publicly instruct the U.S. Executive Director to the IMF to use his voice and vote to suspend any further action on the pending $1.9b loan to Sri Lanka," the letter further said.
"Lastly, we ask that you instruct the Department of Justice to look into the possible legal ramifications regarding the fact that three of the key Sri Lankan actors in the implementation of the Sri Lankan military strategy are reported to be U.S.citizens for purposes of legal accountability should credible evidence link them to any of the above mentioned crimes," the letter concluded.
"All credible efforts by members of the international community, including those by the United States through our outstanding Ambassador to Sri Lanka, RObert Blake, and those of Britain, France, Norway and the European Union, were either rebuffed or went mostly ignored by the Sri Lankan Government, which has made a determination that it will resolve the issue militarily.
"It has become increasingly obvious that the Sri Lankan government believes that there will be no political price to pay for its impunity. We believe this must change and that there are concrete measures that United States can take right now to hold the Sri Lankan state accountable for its actions, now and in the future," the communication said.
"[W]e call on you to instruct our Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, to immediately call for an emergency session of the Security Council to discuss the ongoing situation in Sri Lanka," the letter added.
"We ask you to publicly instruct the U.S. Executive Director to the IMF to use his voice and vote to suspend any further action on the pending $1.9b loan to Sri Lanka," the letter further said.
"Lastly, we ask that you instruct the Department of Justice to look into the possible legal ramifications regarding the fact that three of the key Sri Lankan actors in the implementation of the Sri Lankan military strategy are reported to be U.S.citizens for purposes of legal accountability should credible evidence link them to any of the above mentioned crimes," the letter concluded.
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