Sri Lanka's ex-army chief leaves US without facing questioning

Colombo, Nov 4: General Sarath Fonseka, who was Sri Lanka's army commander when it defeated Tamil rebels in May, left the US without being questioned by US authorities about the final phase of military operations against the guerrillas, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

It was believed the expected questioning concerned suspected human rights abuses committed during the final campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Fonseka, who is now chief of the defence staff, was on a private visit to the US to meet his daughters when the US Department of Homeland Security asked him to present himself for an interview Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

The foreign ministry in Colombo said in a statement that Fonseka was not subjected to any questioning before his departure.

News of the requested interview prompted Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to ask the US ambassador in Colombo, Patricia Butenis, to desist from questioning Fonseka. A similar request was made to the US State Department.

Last month, the State Department released a report accusing both the government and rebels of human rights abuses during the final five months of the military operations against the Tamil rebels that ended a 26-year civil war. They included killings of civilians.

More than 6,700 civilians were killed from January to May and more than 15,000 injured, the report said, but Sri Lanka's government said the report did not substantiate its claims.

--IANS