UN to quizz Lankan team over Fonseka's LTTE remarks

Colombo: The chief of the UN human rights watchdog will quizz a Sri Lankan delegation over the controversial allegation by the former army chief that instructions were given by a senior government official to kill the top LTTE leaders and not allow them to surrender during the final stages of the ethnic conflict.

Expecting queries over issues raised by the defeated Presidential candidate, Mr Sarath Fonseka, on the last phase of ethnic conflict, a team of Sri Lankan experts led by the Human Rights Minister, Mr Mahinda Samarasinghe, is slated to meet the UN Human Rights Council chief, Mr Navaneethan Pillai, in Geneva on Tuesday.

"Though this is routine meeting held in Geneva every three months, we expect the issues raised by former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka to come up for discussions," a top Human Rights Ministry official said.

In a Sri Lankan newspaper interview last year, Mr Fonseka had alleged that the Defence Secretary, Mr Gotabaya Rajapakse, had instructed a key military commander that the surrendering top LTTE leadership must be killed during the final stages of war.

Mr Fonseka later clarified that the newspaper had quoted him out of context. The top Sri Lankan Human Rights Ministry official said the government team is slated to meet Mr Pillai, with possible clarifications sought by the international body on the allegations raised by Mr Fonseka.

"We are sending our expert team led by the Minister to discuss various issues, including the one raised by Fonseka that could come for discussions," he said.