Mangala calls for forensic probe
A leading opposition parliamentarian in Sri Lanka has called for a forensic investigation into footage showing alleged war crimes by security forces.
Mangala Samaraweera, MP, leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Mahajana Wing (SLFP-M), said it is the only way that Sri Lanka would re-establish its international image. The former foreign minister in Rajapaksa administration was commenting on the video footage aired by Britain's Channel4 television that showed Sinhala speaking group in uniform shooting dead a group of naked men. The footage was supplied by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), a recently formed organisation by exiled Sri Lankan journalists. Categorically denying the war crimes allegations, the government has said that the footage has been doctored to tarnish Sri Lanka's image. "There are many forensic video experts in the world," Mr. Samaraweera told BBC Sinhala service, Sandeshaya. "Their certificates are accepted in any international court. So the government can get a certificate from those experts and take legal action against Channel4 and other media that aired the footage." Mr. Samaraweera says Sri Lanka's international image will be further tarnished if the government failed to take concrete action, than 'using mere words'.