Lanka itself will probe war abuses by forces

Sri Lanka said it will conduct its own investigation into allegations of war abuses.

Sri Lanka on Saturday said it will conduct its own investigation into allegations of war abuses including those by its armed forces,rejecting calls for setting up an international tribunal.

The Sri Lankan Attorney general has started the inquiry into the alleged war abuses and human rights violations that occurred during the last few months of end of the civil war, Foreign Minister G M Peiris,said at a news conference held here at the end of his four-day US trip. The investigations would include alleged violations by the security forces too, he said.

Peiris made these comments after meeting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,where he presented a detailed reconciliation plan to the US administration. During the meeting,Clinton strongly urged accountability,in probing the war crimes allegations to strengthen reconciliation,public confidence inside and outside Sri Lanka,and,frankly,to speed the healing of the country, according to State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland.

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Clinton has praised Sri Lankas plan,calling it an,excellent mechanism for implementing the LLRCs recommendations, a statement said.

Lanka rejects calls for troop withdrawal

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday rejected international calls to withdraw troops from the countrys former warzones,warning that LTTE diaspora had not given up separatism. We cannot jeopardise national security, Rajapaksa said at a ceremony to mark the third anniversary of crushing of the Tamil Tigers,hours after US Secretary of State,Hilary Clinton said that Colombo should demilitarise the Tamil dominated embattled north.