Sri Lanka plans to set up a Special Tribunal to try over 10,000 LTTE suspects who have been involved in various crimes and has even sought help from the U.S. and the U.K. in dealing with the former rebels.
“Our aim is to settle the cases against the LTTE cadres speedily as it could otherwise take years in the normal legal system in courts,” a top government official told PTI.
More than 10,000 LTTE cadres are being held in various centres across Sri Lanka after the end of the 30-year-old civil war with the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran in May.
The official said the Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms has mooted the proposal for a Special Tribunal for trying these cases and that it was under the consideration of the government.
He also said the Special Tribunals may be set up on the lines of the Special Commission set up to inquire into the JVP excesses in 1971.
As part of the proposal, moves are on to classify the LTTE suspects into three groups namely, those involved in graver crimes, those who could be rehabilitated and those not involved in grave crimes and can be released on conditional bail.
The country’s Attorney General Mohan Pereis and Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath will visit the U.S. and UK in this regard.
They have gone to study the judicial instruments introduced in those countries to try terror suspects and their experiences in relation to Afghanistan and Iraq,” the official said.
On the reasons for undertaking such a tour, the official pointed out that it was important to study the experiences of the western and developed countries on transitional justice.
“These could be introduced in Sri Lanka with necessary amendments and modifications to suit the political and ground conditions,” the official said.
He pointed out that there are over 10,000 LTTE cadres held in various detention centre across the country awaiting trial.
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