Commander of the Army Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya has appointed a court of inquiry to probe the observations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission on alleged civilian casualties during the final stage of the war against the LTTE and the content of the Channel-4 video.
It is headed by Maj. Gen. Chrishantha de Silva, commander of the Security Forces Headquarters in Kilinochchi, an Army statement said.
The court is to probe the contents in the Channel 4 video footage, irrespective of the authenticity or otherwise of the video presentation.
The court of inquiry had been appointed by the virtue of the powers vested in the Army Commander by Regulation 4 of the Court of Inquiry Regulations, read with the Regulation 2 of the Army Disciplinary Regulations, said the statement.
Lt. Gen. Jayasuriya said that in view of a consistent policy followed by the Sri Lanka Army from its inception in 1949 of maintaining a zero tolerance towards any breach of humanitarian laws by its members during engagements such an inquiry is warranted, especially in view of the observations of the LLRC.
A court of inquiry is an initial fact-finding inquiry akin to a non-summary inquiry by a magistrate.
If there is a prima facie case disclosed against any person from the evidence led before the court of inquiry, a general court martial is convened to try the alleged offenders.
A general court martial has the jurisdiction that is identical to a high court trial-at-bar and can award any sentence, including the death penalty, the Army statement added.
SLM
It is headed by Maj. Gen. Chrishantha de Silva, commander of the Security Forces Headquarters in Kilinochchi, an Army statement said.
The court is to probe the contents in the Channel 4 video footage, irrespective of the authenticity or otherwise of the video presentation.
The court of inquiry had been appointed by the virtue of the powers vested in the Army Commander by Regulation 4 of the Court of Inquiry Regulations, read with the Regulation 2 of the Army Disciplinary Regulations, said the statement.
Lt. Gen. Jayasuriya said that in view of a consistent policy followed by the Sri Lanka Army from its inception in 1949 of maintaining a zero tolerance towards any breach of humanitarian laws by its members during engagements such an inquiry is warranted, especially in view of the observations of the LLRC.
A court of inquiry is an initial fact-finding inquiry akin to a non-summary inquiry by a magistrate.
If there is a prima facie case disclosed against any person from the evidence led before the court of inquiry, a general court martial is convened to try the alleged offenders.
A general court martial has the jurisdiction that is identical to a high court trial-at-bar and can award any sentence, including the death penalty, the Army statement added.
SLM
