Sri Lanka Rejects PM Deadline Over 'War Crimes'

The Sri Lankan government has rejected a call by Prime Minister David Cameron to conduct an independent investigation by March into alleged war crimes.

The UN and rights groups say as many as 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final stages of the civil war against the rebel Tamil Tigers in May 2009.

But the country's president Mahinda Rajapaksa has denied any civilians were killed.

And he has blocked all calls for an independent probe into claims of war crimes committed by government forces against the Tamil population in the northern Jaffna region.

Mr Cameron is pressing the regime to do more to improve conditions for the Tamil minority and he met Mr Rajapaksa on Friday to discuss the human rights issue.

The PM said Mr Rajapaksa wanted more time to address the claims, but put him on notice to deliver by March or he would push for an international investigation through the auspices of the UN human rights council.

During his trip to Sri Lanka, Mr Cameron went to the war-scarred north of the island - the first visit by a foreign leader to the region since 1948.

The PM's visit is the first by a foreign leader to the region since 1948

He met families still unable to return to their homes after spending 20 years in refugee camps and was mobbed by protesters who claim relatives were murdered by the state.

The PM insisted he had given a "fair reflection" of the need for improved human rights after cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan suggested he had been given a false picture of his country.

The spin bowling great, who is a Tamil, said Mr Cameron had been "misled" about the latest situation in the north.

Mr Muralitharan said: "I'm a sportsman and we don't think about politics. My opinion is, there were problems in the last 30 years in those areas.

"Nobody could move there. In wartime I went with the UN, I saw the place, how it was. Now I regularly go and I see the place and it is about a 1,000% improvement in facilities."

At a news conference at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Colombo, Mr Cameron said the human rights issue would remain high on the international agenda.

David Cameron pits his batting skills against Muttiah Muralitharan

He said: "The Sri Lankan government needs to go further and faster on human rights and reconciliation.

"I accept it takes time but I think the important thing is to get on the right track. This issue is not going to go away, it's an issue of international concern."

In response to Mr Cameron's comments, a senior Sri Lankan minister reaffirmed that the country's government would "definitely" not allow it.

Economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is the president's brother, said: "Why should we have an internal inquiry?

"We will object to it ... Definitely we are not going to allow it."

Mr Cameron acquitted himself well when he pitted his batting skills against some "Murali" deliveries at a cricket ground in Colombo.

They were there to talk about the sportsman's initiative to bring together youngsters from Tamil and other communities through cricket as part of post-war reconciliation efforts.

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