Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that the government hadn’t ruled out foreign involvement in the proposed war crimes investigation.

The PM said so in answer to a Channel 4 News query. Asked whether there wouldn’t be any foreign involvement as declared by President Maithripala Sirisena last week, Wickremesinghe said the President had not ruled it out.

President Sirisena has said that as the local judiciary was capable of handling the inquiry there was no need for a hybrid mechanism.

In an interview with BBC Sinhala Service President Sirisena said last week: “I will never agree to international involvement in this matter …We have more than enough specialists, experts and knowledgeable people in our country to solve our internal issues …. This investigation should be internal and indigenous, without violating the laws of the country, and I believe in the judicial system and other relevant authorities in this regard.

The President said: “The international community need not worry about matters of state interest.”

The Prime Minister said: “We have not ruled it out and he [the President] has not ruled it out.”

Asked to confirm that there would be an international component, the PM said: “There, there are … yes …. We are standing by our commitment to the Geneva resolution.”

The four-party Tamil National Alliance and the UK-based Global Tamil Forum (GTF) have insisted on the full implementation of the Oct. 1, 2015 Geneva Resolution to set up a war crimes court with the participation of Commonwealth and other international judges and relevant foreign experts.

GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran has told this newspaper that any move on the part of Sri Lanka to deviate from the Geneva resolution won’t be acceptable to the Tamil community.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told Channel 4 News that the government would put together a mechanism for accountability and reconciliation by May. “I don’t think there is anything to be worried about. We are all people who fought for it. I put my neck out more than anyone else and by May all these doubts will go out.”

Courtesy:The Island