COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's military on Thursday asked the government to introduce its own rules to deal with civil wars, saying existing international humanitarian laws cover only state actors and not terrorist organizations. The country's armed forces face numerous human rights allegations and possible war crimes for their conduct during a decades-long civil war with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels that ended in 2009. The suggestion is part of the military's response to a call to implement a war commission report that suggests investigating abuse allegations against government soldiers. The army also rejected a suggestion by the commission to confine police to civil matters only, saying they should be placed under the Defense Ministry. Sri Lanka is likely to face questions at the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in March on what steps it has taken to implement the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. Army Commander Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya handed over the military's seven recommendations to Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on Thursday. It also includes a suggestion calling for local guidelines on the roles of international humanitarian organizations in civil war situations. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's top lawyers Wednesday boycotted a ceremony to welcome the new chief justice as international jurists said his predecessor's sacking had brought the country close to authoritarian rule. The 11,000-strong Bar Association of Sri Lanka kept away from the Supreme Court ceremony in Colombo for Mohan Peiris who was appointed in place of Shirani Bandaranayake who has been impeached. — Agencies
