The bodies of 15 Action Internationale Contre la Faim (ACF) aid workers killed in Muttur in August are to be exhumed as part of the investigations into the massacre. Two of the 17 aid workers killed in August have already been exhumed and are being kept in
The local staff of the Paris-based Action Against Hunger group were found killed in their office in Muttur on or around 5 August 2006. The inquest, which began in the Muttur Magistrate's Court, was transferred to the Anuradhapura Magistrate's Court in early September.
The Norwegian mission monitoring
Former head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Ulf Henricsson last week said that a local investigation into the murders would not reveal the truth while reiterating claims that government forces were implicated in the massacre.
"It is clear that government forces have been implicated, several sources have confirmed their implication. At the moment of the massacre the zone was totally controlled by government forces. The SLMM will only reveal its sources to an international commission," Henricsson said while addressing the press in
He added, "I don't believe in an inquiry conducted by the Sri Lankan judicial system. We are at a war situation in
Henricsson was attending a press conference held by ACF to mark the second month anniversary of the massacre.
However Defence Spokesperson Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told The Morning Leader that the former SLMM head did not have a right to make such comments and it was only obvious that he wanted to sling mud at the government.
"No one can take him seriously, especially the international community. Investigations into the Muttur massacre are continuing and till such time inquiries conclude, no party can be held responsible. He is a man who is living in an imaginary world," Minister Rambukwella said.
Meanwhile, ACF officials said that they were not accusing any one of the murders but that it was up to the government to bring the culprits to justice.
"We don't want to point fingers at anyone, we want the Sri Lankan government to take its responsibilities. We want the truth behind the massacre," ACF President, Denise Metzger said.
ACF has not been informed of any new developments in the investigation two months after the massacre. "We don't have any information why the massacre took place, there has been no new light shed by the government on the investigation. The investigation is still in its preliminary stage," ACF Director General Beniot Miribel said.
Miribel said that the truth would only come out if the witnesses were protected. He also doubted any new findings through the two post mortems.
Earlier, Australian forensic experts brought to
The Sri Lankan Government has invited the Australian Government to provide technical forensic expertise for the investigation into the deaths, as and when specifically requested by
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) had also expressed deep concern after the Sri Lankan government informed it that the ICJ's official representative would be prevented from entering the country to observe the inquest.
"It is regrettable that the Government has chosen not to allow our independent international observer to attend this vital inquest", said Nicholas Howen, Secretary-General of the ICJ.
"At a time when the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions have warned that investigations and accountability mechanisms have failed to bring justice to victims in Sri Lanka, it is particularly important for the Government to demonstrate that every stage of its processes, including inquests and trials, are open, transparent and credible", he added.
The ICJ had informed the Sri Lankan authorities that it intended to send a senior British based lawyer (Queens Counsel), to observe the inquest. However, the ICJ was informed that it could not observe these hearings and that its representative would not be granted an appropriate visa if he applied.
